Transformers Prime: Inferno of the past (Jack and Arcee Romance)
by Galaxy fiction
Summary: Arcee's past comes back to haunt her when Flamewar, Blackout and Airachnid team up to kill her, along with someone she thought long dead, and once trusted. During a mission, Jack and Arcee are shot down, and on the run for sheer survival against her monstrous past. With all of her past bearing down on her, the odds of her surviving are slim to none. Will she survive this horror?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Cybertron: One solar cycle before the Great Exodus: Iacon city.

"Wakey Wakey" came a sinister Vehicon coo. The two cons chuckled as they held him tight. Blue optics flickered open. His Spark jolted as he was being hauled into a huge dark room. His eyes widened weakly at the sight of Airachnid.

"Word of advice? Get comfortable...you're going to be here awhile" she seductively hissed as she slowly slashed across Arcee's cheek. He tried to struggle free from the Vehicon's hold of his arms, but he was too weak.

"You know, for an Autobot, you're resilience is quite impressive" Airachnid slowly strutted around the restrained Arcee.

"In fact, I'm guessing that no matter what I do to you, you'll never crack" Airachnid clenched a fist. "Am I right?" She cooed evilly. Arcee lifted her head, gritting her teeth and glaring with intent at her, dreaming of ripping her demented head off.

"That's what I thought" Airachnid spat. The Vehicons dragged him in, his shins and feet scraping the metal grated floor.

"Tailgate?" Arcee trembled, from her arms raised position. Airachnid turned and smirked at him. The Vehicon's held him tight as they shackled him up. He groaned weakly, it was all he could muster. The amount of pain they'd caused him, the Energon he'd lost. The electrical beams secured his arms up above his lowered head.

"What have you done to him?" Arcee snarled viciously.

"Not much..." Airachnid shrugged from the shadows as she stepped forward into the light, pointing at Arcee. "...Yet"

"Just tell me what I want to know, or...well, you're a smart bot. I think you can imagine what happens to Tailgate next" She smirked evilly, the light trickling down her face.

"I don't know the attack coordinates!" Arcee pleaded. Airachnid had enough, gritting her teeth and turning towards Tailgate. He slowly opened his weak eyes.

"I swear upon the Allspark it's the truth!" Arcee struggled, raising her web bound legs.

"We shall see" Airachnid chuckled in a husky voice. Arcee simply struggled harder and faster, running out of time. She could almost see Tailgates time draining away the nearer Airachnid got.

"No!" Arcee cried, Airachnid raising a sharp spider limb. "Please!" Arcee tearfully trembled. Airachnid hissed, her fangs flaring. Tailgate simply held his head low, trying to cover his throat with his chin. He was too weak to do anything else. He peered up, his flickering blue optics locking with Arcee's despair filled helpless ones.

"Arcee..." He mustered as Airachnid raised the leg. "...I...love you" He smiled as he closed his eyes tight, a tremble on his lip. Because of the situation, the stress and scared for his last moments...Without thinking or meaning it, Arcee screamed out "I love you too!"

Airachnid swung the leg down, Energon staining the wall and Tailgate dropping to the floor with a thud.

"TAILGATE!" Arcee cried out as loud as she could, Energon tears staining her cheeks. He writhed in the dark unseen, shadows hiding the flood of Energon seeping from his slit throat. He gagged and spluttered on his own Energon, feet kicking and scraping the floor. His hands grasped his throat as blue liquid covered them. His vision turned blurry.

Airachnid approached Arcee, a sharp spider limb nearing her face. Her eyes were fixed on one spot, her lip trembling heavily. She sniffed and tears dripped down her face.

"Aww, I didn't realize it was love. How-"

Suddenly a wall exploded, concrete and metal, filling the room in a cluster of steel confetti. Light filled the dark room. Airachnid turned, furious at the interruption. She raised her limbs, but immediately turned, fleeing.

Suddenly, Bumblebee slid in, rising to his feet and blasting blue energy rounds at the two Vehicons, dropping them both instantly. Tailgate lay in the dark, smiling as he tried to close the gaping wound to his throat. He coughed and choked as he knew he'd been saved, he just had to hang on a little longer. Arcee said she loved him that could keep him going.

Soon Cliffjumper ran in, jogging past Tailgate and straight to Arcee. He deactivated the shackled and helped her up as she dropped. Bumblebee also ran by Tailgate. He couldn't shout for help, there was too much Energon in his mouth.

"I couldn't save him" She cried as they walked by Tailgate, not even looking down. He reached a hand out, tears rolling down his pale polymer cheeks.

"I couldn't save my partner!" She bellowed as they stepped out of the huge blast hole in the wall.

...

Tailgate was devastated. He'd been left to die. Silence filled the room and only his choking could be hurt. He tightly closed his weeping optics, accepting death as he let go of his leaking throat. He embraced the silence, and lay ready to die.

Suddenly feminine footsteps sounded. He opened his dying optics to see an Orange and Black Arcee bend down next to him. She ran a hand up his torso, tracing his neck. His vision was growing darker and narrower, like a closing hallway. Her orange eyes gleamed at him and she pressed a finger tip on the wound. Soon a singing heat burned and he gasped, Energon spitting down his face. He saw an amber glow as her finger slowly ran along the slit. Smoke rose up into the air, trailing her finger.

She was soldering, welding it shut somehow. Finally she raised her finger and the white hot tip cooled, turning back to dark silver. She got up, walking over to the pile of ripped webbing in the center of the room. He spat the Energon from his mouth, groaning in pain. There wasn't any more dropping and spraying from his throat as he let go. His mouth wasn't filling up with Energon. She saved him. He couldn't speak, his vocal processors were damaged.

He just lay weakly, watching her from the shadows. She was in the light, bent down looking over the webbing. She rubbed her fingers on the floor, rubbing them together, looking over some sort of residue.

"Hmm...tears" She mumbled. "Obviously restrained, Arcee was definitely here"

"Cee..." Tailgate croaked with only a faint vocalization. She peered at him, orange eyes gleaming.

"What did you say? Cee? Arcee...so she was here" She rubbed chin with a villainous smirk.

"Where'd she go?" she hissed. Suddenly a group of Autobot's ran in through the hole in the wall. Weapons aimed at her. She extended her hands out, all her fingers glowing white hot. She swung at them, cutting one of the bots clean in half. Melted glowing metal coated the slash marks. A huge fiery grin emerged on her face and she inhaled through it, arching her back, before exhaling and breathing a cloud of fire over them. One bot slid aside, capping her knee. She dropped with a cry and he hit her in the head with the butt of his rifle, knocking her processors out cold.

"Primus, what the hell is that? It just killed Swipe!" The bot called to the other three.

"Sentinel Prime sir, we have apprehended Project Flamewar, I repeat, Project Flamewar has been apprehended. Transporting her to Iacon Asylum immediately" The Autobot commander nodded as he held his finger to his ear. Tailgate laid in the dark, watching before exhaustion caused him to pass out unconscious.

One of the soldiers heard a clang in the shadows. He raised his rifle and walked over. He saw Tailgate.

"Sir, we got a wounded bot here!" He called. Two more Bots ran over, picking up Tailgate.

"Get him to a medical camp now!"

...

Tailgate awoke to a Feminine polymer face smiling at him.

"Gah!" He shouted as his vision adjusted. He sat upon the berth. Around him were hundreds of other berths, housing wounded, dying Autobots.

"Easy! You got injured badly" The medical officer smiled. Tailgate groaned as he rubbed his head.

"What happened?" His croaky, deep raspy voice said.

"My voice" he gasped.

"A side effect of the damage. Vocal processor will only compute to half the optimal level and we cannot replace it this late into the war" She sighed. He nodded.

"No, no it's fine. Look, I need to find Arcee, do you know her?" He tried to get up, weak on his feet. The medical officer caught him.

"Thanks" He smiled as she helped him upright.

"No, not personally, but I have heard of her. She's been serving at Iacon highway all this solar cycle"

"Wait, I've been unconscious for a whole solar cycle?!" He roared, clutching his throat, feeling the bump of the rough weld line.

"Easy on the raised voice, it will damage the wound. Let it heal. And yes, you have been clinically processor dead for a year. We kept you on life support and stabilized the Energon levels in your system"

"Thanks...for saving me" Tailgate muttered, rubbing his throat.

"you are welcome" she smiled.

"You're welcome, but...I wasn't talking about you" He said, walking way, still thinking about that bot that saved him.

_Project Flamewar?_

"Iacon highway?" Tailgate huffed as he barged by medical staff and injured Autobots. He shook off his thoughts and stepped out from the camp, the sunlight gleaming over the ruins of Iacon, painting bars of light on his metal white and blue skin.

"Don't worry Cee, your partner's back" He smiled, transforming in pain and hovering off towards the city highway at pace.

...

Eventually, after dodging Decepticon units for hours, he reached the outline of the huge ruined highway. He swooped into an alleyway, transforming. Tailgate shimmied along the wall and to the other side.

His eyes widened as he saw what stood at the other end of the ally, on the curb of the highway: The slender, curvy form of Arcee. She was a vision in blue, pink and black, gorgeous. And she told him she loved him. Tailgate smiled heavily and began walking down the shadowed alleyway.

"Yes, roger that Optimus, we're heading that way now" She said boldly into her communicator. He was mere feet from her now.

He rolled his shoulders and stepped out of the shadow, the words "Hey Cee" on the verge of his lips.

"Yeah, yeah we're moving! Coming Partner?" She called with a smile. Tailgate stopped himself, stepping back slightly, the shadows reclaiming him. Cliffjumper emerged beside her.

"Yeah, right behind you Partner" He smiled as they both transformed and raced off. Tailgate stood awe shocked in the shadows. He closed his eyes, his fists tightening. Soon the sunlight vanished and a grey rumbling overcame the sky. Patters of oil like rain fell, picking up pace. Soon he was caught in a heavy torrent of maelstrom Cybertronian weather.

It was then that the weight of the war, his shattered heart and ruined life caused his fragile mind to snap like an old dry bone.

"She replaced me...She replaced me...SHE...REPLACED...ME!" He roared, cracking and damaging his vocal processor further, making his voice darker and raspier.

"I know someone who still cares if I live... trip to Iacon Asylum I think" He snarled, turning and walking out into the heavy continued his pace before transforming and racing off towards the huge structure.


	2. Chapter 2: Broken mind, Broken heart

An Autobot guard stood out upon the steps of Iacon Asylum, a massive prison like complex to harbor the criminally insane. He closed his optics and lifted his back letting the oily rain drip and sooth his polymer face.

Suddenly an Energon round slammed through his Polymer temple, sending the dead bot dropping and rolling down the steps. Tailgate began storming up the steps, an Energon rifle in his grip and a stern betrayed look on his face. Two guards greeted him at the entrance with raised rifles. They saw the body of their friend too late and Tailgate quickly raised the barrel blasting the head clean off the bots shoulders and bringing the gun butt round, cracking the jaw off the other bot. Both dropped dead to the floor. The emotionally torn Tailgate wasn't phased as he stepped over them as well, entering the facility.

Tailgate paced the halls, rifle aimed. A guard peered around the corner, the top segment of his head shattering as Tailgate squeezed the trigger. He knew in the back of his mind what he was doing was wrong, but his fragile state and betrayal by his partner simply roared louder over his conscience. He jogged by the cells, crazed bots and cons laughing and cheering Tailgate on, begging to be freed. The shield doors to their cells stopped them from reaching out for him. He ignored them as he reached the next hallway, grabbing a grenade from his hip and chucking it down the hall.

Autobot guards screamed and a huge explosion bellowed. Tailgate turned the corner, continuing further inside. His rifle was up and aimed through the smoke and debris. He checked every cell but she was nowhere to be found. Tailgate continued onwards.

Meanwhile, Flamewar sat against the wall of her cell, bouncing a ball of fire off the opposite wall and catching it, repeating and repeating the action. She stopped, catching the ball and listening intently. She heard a rumble of an explosion only a few halls down. She got up, her palm reabsorbing the fire.

Autobot guards rushed by her cell, heading to the where the explosion was heard.

"Hey! What's going on?" She asked. Gunfire sounded down the hall.

"Crazed gunman's entered the-" His head jerked back and a splash of Energon stained the wall behind him. His shattered optic shuddered and he collapsed dead. She watched the body drop and took a step back, her palms filling with fire. She was ready to fight this killer.

Suddenly Tailgate stepped over the dead guard, looking at her cell. Her optics widened.

"You? Wha-what are you doing here?" she asked, closing her fiery palms. He placed a detonator on the blue hue shield door.

"What does it look like, I'm busting you out" He said calmly in his new found voice. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" she asked in a calm tone. He peered up at her with stern anger.

"Cos you saved me, I need to know why"

"That's not it" she crossed her arms. "You could ask me now and leave, why break me out?"

"Fine" He shrugged, going to remove the charge.

"No wait!" She reached out. He smirked as he put it back.

"Why'd you save me?" He asked, alarms blaring but he ignored them.

"I...I don't know"

"Not an answer" He shook his head. She huffed, dropping her shoulders.

"You were bleedin out. I remembered you from my past" She smiled gently.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember you"

"You wouldn't. People may change appearances, but they keep their memories" she sighed.

"Okay. Good enough for me. I can ask you more on the way. We need to go, now!" He said, activating the charge and setting to the side. A loud explosion rattled the room and the shields flickered. The smoke cleared and the orange and Black Arcee emerged.

"Hmm...Freedom at last" She smirked. Her palms filled his fire and her eyes blared bright orange.

"We need to get out of here" Tailgate raised his rifle.

"Agreed. But I need my weapons and vehicle mode back online. They have a key to unlock my T-cog in the main security room" she pointed down the hall.

"Hey, what about us?!" Other convicts called. Suddenly Autobot soldiers rounded the corner, firing at them. Flamewar and Tailgate bolted, running to the security block.

...

Meanwhile the Autobots were loading up the Ark, getting ready to leave on Cybertron's last day. Madness ensued as thousands tried to get aboard. Arcee and Cliffjumper tended to allowing and getting people on.

Suddenly Autobot troopships and gunships raced overhead. Smoke rose in the distance.

"What's going on?" Arcee asked a running soldier. He stopped, peering at her.

"Some crazy bot broke into Iacon Asylum! He's trying to free them all!"

"What! If they get to the Ark, chaos will ensue!" Cliffjumper shouted.

"That's why we're going to stop them sir!" The soldier began running before transforming, racing off.

"Cee, stay put, I'll give em a hand!" Cliff shouted.

"I'll come with you! You could use a hand" she smirked.

"No, stay and help load the ship. I'll be back soon, don't you worry" He smiled to his friend. She rolled her eyes as he ran off, racing off towards the Asylum.

"Everyone on! Now!" she instructed.

...

Suddenly heated fingers cut through the metal of the door like it was wet paper. The door warped from the heat and melted as Flamewar stepped inside. Tailgate stepped in as well, shimmying through the ravaged door. He aimed around the security room.

"Cover the door, I'll be back in a sec" She hummed as she reached the terminal. She began tapping away at the console. Tailgate kept his back to the melted door, aiming around it, hitting the approaching wardens and guards. Their bodies fell back in a heap. He quickly tapped the gun, knocking the thermal clip out. The spent shell bounced along the ground.

"Hurry, Flamewar!" Tailgate growled. She finally unlocked her T-cog. Her blasters came online and her wrist blades. She closed them.

"Good to go" but before she walked away, she saw the panel that controlled the shield doors for the whole complex.

"Let's give us an edge" she smirked.

"Whoa!" He grabbed her wrist. She snarled at him. He felt her wrist heat up and he let go with a gasp. Her amber glowing skin subsided.

"We let them go, we can escape in the chaos" she explained. She made sense, but these beings were here for a reason. Tailgate shrugged in defeat.

"I've already broken every rule in the code, might as well. Do it" He sighed, raising his rifle at the door, blasting a blue energy shell, killing a bot behind the door. The body slumped dead.

Flamewar turned the key, flicked four switches and finally pressed the command button. Loud alarms blared and red lights flashed slowly. Tailgate and Flamewar watched on the cameras as the monstrous murders and psychopaths stepped free from the cells, loud cheers echoing.

"Let's go" He called, nudging her shoulder and running.

"So why else did you free me?" She asked.

"What was project Flamewar?" Tailgate asked as they both ran the halls. She sighed, shaking her head.

"It was Shockwave's attempt to mix the ravaging nature of fire with Energon. I was the result"

"What were you before?" He asked.

"Good" Was all she said as they rounded the corner at pace.

"So, why free me?" She asked still concerned. He shrugged as he ran.

"Cybertron's falling, I'm still listed as KIA and I got betrayed by the only good thing in my life. Rules don't seem to matter anymore to me" He snarled. She smirked, running along the hall.

Meanwhile as the prisoners escaped quickly, tackling guards and bludgeoning them, a huge being stepped slowly from his cell out into the hall. The beige and purple titan smirked and a demonic laugh sounded as he clenched his fists tight.

"Blitzwing has been freed!" He roared.

...

Cliffjumper transformed as he approached the steps to the Asylum. He looked on as Autobot guards fled from the building. One of them only just got clear as he leaped down the steps, a titanic explosion of rubble spraying out behind him. A massive beige and purple Cybertronian jet flew off into space, breaking the sound barrier with a pop. Cliffjumper looked up with a sigh.

"There goes one of the most sadistic pieces of scrap ever made" he exhaled.

"Kill them! Don't let them get to the Ark!" A soldier called as he aimed at the steps. Cliffjumper aimed his wrist cannons.

"Agreed" he nodded. The barrier of Autobot soldiers opened fire at the escaping convicts, hundreds of them dropping dead as they fell to the steps below. Some transformed into jets and escaped into the sky.

...

Tailgate and Flamewar reached the back of the complex. A Hanger of Autobot troopships and gunships stretched for over a mile.

"They used these to transport the convicts. Here, we'll steal one, no way we're getting off Cybertron without it" Flamewar explained. Tailgate nodded. They stepped up the ramp, inside the gunship and into the interior. She shimmied into the seat, starting up the ship. The engines thrummed to life and a blue hue emitted from the two huge ball-hinged swiveling thrusters on the side of the hull. The VTOL ship lifted up and began to hover towards the exit.

Just as it cleared the hanger, Flamewar spun it around immediately. The ship pulled a one-eighty that would sheer any other ship in half. The cannons primed and she squeezed the trigger, blowing the hanger apart and all the ships inside, making it the last of its kind.

"Now...it's a collectable" She smirked, Tailgate chuckling. She flew up over the Asylum as it became engulfed in flames, finally giving in and collapsing. A huge cloud of debris and dust plumed out over the courtyard as the maw of rubble swallowed the falling building.

"Well, no going back now" Tailgate sighed. He looked out over the land below from the ramp when he saw a dab of red in the dust filled courtyard.

"Cliffjumper!" He snarled, leaping off of the ramp and plummeting to the courtyard. Flamewar rolled her eyes, spinning the ship around.

Cliffjumper staggered back as Tailgate landed before him with a thud, cracking the metal ground below. Cliffjumper looked through the clearing dust as a fist came flying out, slamming against his head, knocking the red Autobot back. He slid along the ground, rubbing his face.

"Ahh...what the scrap?" he groaned as he sat up. The dust settled and he set his shocked eyes upon the stood tall Tailgate, scratched and scarred with the long weld across his throat.

"Remember me? I won't be surprised if you don't" Tailgate snapped.

"Tailgate?"

"Oh good! You do know what I look like!" He spat. Cliffjumper stood.

"Why? Why do all this? We thought you were dead!"

"Oh yeah, you did a damn fine job checking! You didn't even look down! You saw your chance and you took it! You stole her from me, and she replaced me! You're made for each other" He growled, Flamewar bringing the gunship around behind Tailgate. Dust flicked up as the thrusters blasted against the ground.

"Tailgate damn it, I didn't replace you! She needed a partner, I volunteered! She doesn't love me, and I don't love her, we're friends"

"Yeah I bet you did. Nestled in perfectly to my spot" Tailgate readied his fists. "Time to take my spot back" He hissed.

"Only a Decepticon deals in absolutes. I will not let you hurt Arcee" Cliffjumper raised his fists.

"Then you are now an enemy to me, all the bots are: Monsters of betrayal!" He roared, lunging at Cliff, catching him off guard. He slammed a fist against his head, knocking him back again. The Autobot spun round, clocking Tailgate in the jaw, sending his head jerking to the left. Tailgate slammed another fist into him.

Flamewar brought the gunship around, aiming cannons at him. Cliffjumper's eyes widened and he turned, running as the cannons blasted the ground up beneath him. He dived behind a fallen column, readying his blasters. He aimed over the block at the gunship firing. The ship tilted to the right avoiding his shots. Tailgate was suddenly on top of him, slamming fists into Cliff's chest. He kicked the fallen Autobot off of him and gathered his strength, fly-kicking him across the courtyard. Tailgate slid along the floor as Cliff got up.

Suddenly the gunship came around again. Cliff raised his blasters again, firing at the inbound gunship. He scratched the paint and marked the windscreen as the huge ship hurtled over after its strafing run. He dived to the side avoiding the cannon blasted that split the ground. By the time he was upright, Tailgate was upon him again, slamming fists into his body, a boot to his hunched chest.

Cliff staggered along the floor.

"You should have made sure I was dead Cliffjumper" Tailgate snarled, raising his fists. The lost and confused Autobot raised his fists for the finishing blow, when a hand grasped his wrist. Tailgate whipped round to see the accused.

The huge red being scratched his blocky head, a long barrel sticking out from his chest.

"Yeah...I wouldn't do that if I were you" Warpath smirked. "Hey Cliff" He peered round Tailgate. Cliff weakly nodded to him.

Suddenly the whir of a gunship sounded and Warpath spun round to face it, dropping Tailgate. He quickly scuttled and rolled clear as Warpath was in clear line of Flamewar's cannons.

The tank of an Autobot stood with clenched fists. Suddenly he ducked to the right as she fired, blowing the ground upwards. Tailgate was outnumbered on the ground and he quickly clambered onto the ramp of the ship. The gunship spun around and flew off. Warpath sighed heavily as Cliff limped over to him, calm settling.

"Thanks for the save" Cliff chuckled.

"No problem. That...that was Tailgate wasn't it?" Warpath asked.

"Mmm...it was"

"What are you gonna tell Arcee?" Warpath asked.

"Nothing, she doesn't need to deal with that. All the good Tailgate ever did would be undone, no he needs to stay dead in her eyes, or else...it'd destroy her, she'd blame herself"

"That your call to make?" Warpath hissed.

"Please...for her own good, don't tell her" He pleaded. Warpath massaged his brow.

"Yeah...okay. Come on, we need to get back to the Ark" Warpath explained as they left the ruins of the Asylum.

...

"Why are we here?" Tailgate asked as he looked over the relic house, a massive structure.

"They're going to launch relics into deep space; we need to get as many as we can!" She snarled.

"Why?"

"Why not? May come in handy in the future" Flamewar explained, setting the ship down at the entrance. She quickly raced by him, sprinting to the building.

"I'll be back, stay with the ship!" She called. Tailgate groaned as he rolled his eyes.

Flamewar melted a door with her heated palms, stepping over the now liquid door. She walked up behind an Autobot scientist, grasping his head with her heated palms and melting his head as she muffled his screams. The liquidized metal head drooped from the shoulders and he fell with a slump. She dusted off her heated palms.

"Headache in the morning I think" She smirked, walking over to a control panel. Before her, through a window was a titanic room filled with scientist as they attempted to ready the relics for launch. The Forge of Solus Prime, the phase shifter and even the polarity gauntlet, all being readied to launch. Flamewar snarled, slamming the panel and delaying the launch as she melted a hole into it.

Using her superheated finger, the carved a hole into the window and popped the glass out before leaping through into the room full of scientists.

"So doctors" She cracked her knuckles, all of them cowering at her presence.

"You scared of a big old grin" her smile morphing into the jagged Jack O lantern like smirk that stretched along her face. Screams echoed from the room as she slaughtered all of them in cold Energon.

...

Meanwhile at the Ark, Arcee greeted Cliff and Warpath.

"Cliff! what happened you idiot!" She shoved him.

"Gee thanks, that really helped heal the wounds" He sarcastically chuckled.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Oh, a couple of the convicts got me" he said unconvincingly.

"Uh-huh...Warpath?" she looked at him.

"Well Arcee, to tell you the truth..." He peered down at the desperate eyes of Cliffjumper. He sighed heavily.

"Couple of the convicts beat the scrap out of him. I saved his aft" He chuckled.

"Really? Nice job Cliff" she rolled her optics. She turned to Optimus. Warpath looked at Cliff.

"Thanks" Cliff sighed.

"As long as it doesn't come back to bite her" Warpath walked off.

...

Eventually, after finishing them, Flamewar went to pick her relics. Suddenly as she approached the forge, the canister sealed shut around it and it launched up the shoot into space. She snarled and roared in anger, her huge fiery mouth wide open. She turned to see a gravely wounded scientist pressing the override key on a second control panel.

"You lose" He chuckled weakly before closing his optics and dying, slumping down the side of the panel. She watched as the relics began to launch one by one. She quickly ran to one, not caring which. She grabbed it just as the container slammed shut and launched its empty hull into space. She staggered back holding it: The time shifter. It was a small gauntlet like bracelet with a sand timer sculpted into it, filled with the sand crystals of an ancient spark of unknown origin. She looked it over and quickly shoved it to her hip.

"Flamewar! Hurry up, will ya? We got bots trying to stop you!" Tailgate called over the comm. She huffed as the last of the relics launched. Flamewar sprinted out of the room from the dead scientists, leaping through the hole in the window and heading to the exit.

Tailgate aimed outt the back of the parked gunship as incoming fire doused the ship. Autobot soldiers aimed and fired at them.

"Stop them! They've stolen a relic!" one shouted. Suddenly the tall form of Sentinel Prime emerged holding his doubled edged sword in his right grip, his shield in the left. He snarled as he watched Flamewar swung round into the ship, Tailgate covering her. He fired at Sentinel, who used a bat of his shield to deflect the shot.

"Got it?" Tailgate asked as she quickly sat in the pilot seat.

"Got _one_" she snarled. The ship started up as Tailgate headed to the ramp, throwing the last of his grenades. The soldiers ducted and swooped, Sentinel simply walking through the explosions, only affecting him by swaying his beard. He gritted his teeth, dropping his shield and grabbing his holstered Acid rust blaster. He aimed up as the ship lifted upwards into the sky. Sentinel fired, the shot searing through the air and hitting Tailgate's chest. He cried out in agony as he dropped to the ramp, coughing and spluttering as his chest was eroded and eaten away by the growing orange rust.

Flamewar heard and after engaging Autopilot, she ran to his aid, lying him down and placing her palm on his burning chest. Using her heated palms she stopped the spread of the acid and melted the warping metal. He roared in agony as she sculpted the ravaging hole shut with the now malleable glowing hot metal. Soon the hole never existed, though the searing pain still did. She leaned down pecking a kiss on his forehead. Tailgate soothed, calming, still agonized.

Sentinel narrowed his eyes as the gunship escaped Cybertron.

"Ready my vessel, I must go into exile. I have failed to restore and save Cybertron. I must tend to other matters in dark space. Make sure the pillars are aboard my ship, the Decepticons cannot get them" He said as the bots followed the tall being.

"Yes sir" they said in response, following the prime.

...

Tailgate opened his eyes, back in the Afghanistan desert. He sighed at the length of the flashback. A long reminder of his life and the mistakes he'd made in his fury. But he had to live with that. He had to find Arcee, and know why she did what she did. Did she really love him? Or was it always...Cliffjumper. He gritted his teeth at the name.

Blackout stood on the lip of the cave along with Airachnid. Flamewar pressed a button on her wrist and a huge gunship, rusty and old dropped down from the clouds. It was the same ship that they escaped Cybertron on. Tailgate stood up from the floor.

"Our ride" she smirked.

"It's a hunk of scrap!" Blackout hissed.

"This hunk has save us many a time" Tailgate growled as he approached the ramp as the ship spun around. Flamewar offered palms to the ship.

"In you get" She invited Blackout and Airachnid. both of them reluctantly stepped inside, Blackout ducking to fit. Flamewar smirked villainously as she stepped inside the ship. It lifted up and blasted up through the clouds.

* * *

**Author Notes: A little bit of history on Tailgate's turn. Poor guy. A broken mind, a broken heart, a broken man.**


	3. Chapter 3: Readying for Christmas

December: Christmas Eve: New Jasper. The Darby house had been rebuilt after Jasper's annihilation by uranium rod. It looked exactly the same as its previous incarnation, though more pristine. Other identical houses zoomed out along the road both left and right. Cars lay on driveways in cold silent bliss, icy windshields and cold air tainting the metal skin to freezing temperatures. Ice blue sky only made the morning air colder on this Saturday morning. The only sounds to be heard were birds chirping.

Sat on the lip of the Darby house driveway, at the curb was a white Sedan. And further up the drive near the gaping maw of the open garage was a Blue motorcycle. a man stepped from the dark of the cold garage, two buckets in each grip. He shook his head as he looked over the state of the motorcycle, caked in mud and dirt, barely any blue or pink showing.

"Seriously Arcee, how do you get this dirty?" asked Jack as he set the two buckets down, a variety of cloths and sponges at his feet. The cold air licked at his skin and scratched along his spine. The dirty motorcycle shrugged its wind mirrors.

"One word: Grimlock" She snarled.

"Uh-oh. What happened?" Jack chuckled.

"Well, when a Dinobot discovers that he likes to roll around in the mud...you make sure you are nowhere near. Won't make that mistake again" She sighed.

"No, you won't. But honestly Cee, this is the fifth time in less than a month that you've gotten this dirty!" He shrugged as he dipped the sponge into the soapy water, wringing it out slightly.

"Well, accidents happen" She nervously lied. Truth was that she had grown to love his touch. She'd never admit it but there was something about being tended to and cleaned that sent her sparkrate through the roof. His smooth yet firm motions on her metal skin sending shivers down her metal frame.

Just as he went to wipe the mud away, she stopped him with a gasp and tilting the motorcycle away slightly.

"Wait! Please...tell me that's warm water" She pleaded. Jack scoffed.

"Of course it is! I'm cleaning you in December, I'm not going to use cold water on you" He chuckled as she leaned the bike back to normal.

"Okay...thanks" She said.

"So Grimlock likes mud huh?" Jack laughed as the warm water trickled down her frame, freeing the blue and chrome from its muddy shield.

"Hey, be glad you get to wash _me_. Ratchet's been washing a Dinobot who refuses to sit still" She explained making Jack chuckled under his breath. He shook his head as he backed away from her, the sponge caked in thick mud. He dropped it in the clear water, turning it clotted brown.

"Arcee, there's too much mud for me to get it off with the sponge. Which means..."

"No" She hissed.

"Fraid so. Hose time"

"Jack, no! That's doesn't have a temperature gauge, it'll be freezing" the Motorcycle winced. Jack gripped the coiled hose and began to unravel it.

"Jackson Darby, you use that and we are through, you understand me. I will transform right here, right now and kick your aft!" She snarled. Jack blasted air through his nose with a smile. He shook his head and grasped the hose nozzle.

"Y-you know, I-I like being muddy! Yeah, it's fine...see you back at ba-" Before she could finish, Jack fired the cold water from the hose, making Arcee gasp and shudder, the motorcycle shivering.

"I hate you" She hissed with an unseen chatter of teeth. The thick chunks of dry mud soaked and fell from her revealing the calming blues and warm pinks below.

"Look, it'll be done in a moment, and then I'll use the warm water again, yeah? Warm soapy water?" He chuckled. He got no response.

"Silent treatment?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"No...Planning how to get away with your murder" She hissed, Jack laughing as he cleaned her other side with the hose, most of the mud sliding off. As he finally finished the hose use, he turned it off at the tap attached to the wall, dropping the boa constrictor like rubber hose. He walked back to the shivering motorcycle.

He walked to the hot bucket, steam rising. He dipped the sponge in the water and lifted it, dabbing it on her side. She cooed and moaned loudly. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Err...it's warm" she nervously chuckled.

"Uh-huh"

"Shut up and clean me" She mumbled. Jack laughed as he made circular motions with the warm soapy sponge on her blue skin. She was in silent bliss, trying not to moan in pleasure.

June walked by the dirty motorcycle from the house.

"Morning Arcee" She said before stopping, her leg held out from her planned next stride. She spun around and dropped her leg as she looked at Arcee.

"What happened to you?" She chuckled.

"Grimlock...discovered he likes...mud" Arcee explained.

"I see" June smiled. "Well, I'm off for my shift. I'll see you later Jack, love you. Nice to see you Arcee. Oh make sure you lock up the house!"

"Will do. Have a good day Mom" Jack called as she walked to her white sedan.

"Bye June" Arcee quietly said. Jack continued to run the warm water over her. Arcee sighed heavily, making Jack crease an eyebrow.

"You okay? Am I hurting you?" He asked, dragging the sponge away quickly.

"What? No. It's just...Jack...It's been boring around the base without you" she sighed. Jack gave a squeeze of the sponge and massaged her hull with the hot foam.

"I'm sorry Cee. Mom needed my help for moving back in, so I've been here"

"Do...d-do you-" Arcee stuttered. He knew that if she was stuttering it was something relationship related. Even now it was difficult for her.

"Yeeeah?" He dragged out with a smirk. "Say it" he chuckled.

"Forget it" She huffed.

"Say it...or I get the hose" He smirked. Her wing mirrors shrugged.

"Damn you Jackson Darby" She sighed heavily "Do you want to stay at the base tonight?" she said, pronouncing ever syllable sharply.

"I would love to. Hey Mom! I'm staying round Cee's tonight!" He called to his mother.

"But it's Christmas Eve?" she called back. Jack shrugged.

"we were going round there's tomorrow anyway, right?"

June sighed with a shrug "Okay, I'll see you later then. Bye!" June called.

"Bye" Jack called as June shut the car door and drove off down the road. He turned his attention back to Arcee. Jack placed the sponge along her hull.

"How's the leg?" She broke the silence. He shrugged.

"Same, still working really well, better than the prototype" He chuckled. Arcee nodded her wing mirrors. Her attention shifted as Jack began running the hot sponge in circular motions along her chassis down to her chrome gas tank. She let out an airy moan and tried to suppress it, the feeling of his warm touch, of being cleaned, having someone who cared enough to look after her. It was bliss inducing.

"Jack?" she asked quietly. He finished the now pristine tank as he wiped the mud away, making her glisten.

"Yeah" He spoke.

"I love you" she said out of the blue. Even though she'd said it before, it was often in response to him saying it first. This was totally unprompted which made his heart thump. He walked around the front, cupping her headlights and staring into them.

"And I love you" He smiled. He looked over to his left at his neighbor, Mr Daniels who was dropping a bag in the bin, the aged man with grey hair and creased wrinkles to his face gave a cocked eyebrow fixed on Jack. Jack was still cupping the front of the now silent motorcycle. He quickly pulled his hands away, running them down his side.

"M-morning Mr Daniels" Jack called nervously. The old made gave a slightly confused wave.

"Morning Jackson. Cleaning the bike?"

"Uh-huh...it's...special to me"

"Well, as long as that all you do to it" The man unknowingly joked as he turning back to his front door, slowly walking inside hunched over slightly, a cane in his left hand helping him in. Jack dropped his shoulders as both his eyes and the headlights of Arcee at his waist height stared at the man as he vanished inside.

"You have no idea" Arcee chuckled, Jack delivering a gently kick to her tire. "Ow! What?"

"Innuendos Arcee. Stop" Jack shook his head.

"Oh did I do it again? Whoops" she sarcastically cackled. Jack picked up the hose, smirking at her.

"Cold shower ought to cool you off"

"Jack...don't you-" suddenly she was doused in cold water again as all the rest of the now loosened mud and grit fell from her. Her headlights dropped to her side like wet hair.

"-you dare" she finished with a groan.

...

"All I'm saying Optimus is that it feels like it's always a Saturday, and that the children are always here"

"Ratchet, they are our friends. We should embrace their company"

"Optimus, I just finished cleaning mud out of every nook and cranny of a huge Dinobot, the last thing I want is Miko asking me questions about his physiology in an attempt to...embarrass me" the doctor rolled his optics as they entered the Command Center.

"Understood, I will leave you to your work"

"Yeah, wish Miko would too" Ratchet huffed as he looked over the bridge controls. Optimus walked by Raf and Bumblebee. Miko was sat on Bulk's bent knee and drawing on her sketchpad. Optimus suddenly raised his finger to his audio processor.

"Optimus, its Smokescreen. We've found what we've been looking for"

"Understood. Take it down" Optimus ordered with a sigh.

"Roger that"

Out in a winter forest, huge triangular trees rising up into the harsh blizzard air, Grimlock stood with Smokescreen as the rookie lowered his finger from his ear.

"You heard him Grim. Take it down" Smokescreen sighed with a whisper as the titan walked by him, raising his huge sword. He lifted it over his right shoulder and winced before swinging viciously horizontally.

"It's done" Grimlock sighed. Smokescreen lowered his head.

Meanwhile back at base, Optimus turned as a pristine blue and pink motorcycle raced in with Jack atop. He scooted off her as she transformed. Water dripped from her now shifting nooks. She shook her body, all the excess water drips spraying out.

"Yeah, nice: Arcee the Labrador" Jack groaned as he wiped the water from his T-shirt. She simply rolled her eyes as she approached Optimus.

"Hey Optimus, what's going on?" She asked, hands on hips. He looked serious as always.

"Grimlock and Smokescreen have found and taken care of it"

"Oh" Jack and Arcee nodded.

Within five minutes of that conversation, the ground bridge popped open and Smokescreen stepped out, followed by Grimlock, dragging something. As he stepped into the room, it was apparent that he was carrying a huge tree.

"Yeah! Grim got the tree!" Miko cheered as she slid down Bulk's leg to her feet. The Wrecker clambered to his feet.

"Miko, what is this Christmas again?" Bulk asked. She huffed, spinning around.

"Really Bulk? It's only like the best holiday ever! We celebrate the birth of a religious guy but _we_ get presents, not him!" She cheered. Jack walked over.

"Okay, let me stop you there Miko, Bulk what she's trying to say is that in Christian religion, Jesus Christ was born on Christmas. It's widely celebrated. It's celebrated by billions of people, non religious and non-Christian. Like Halloween it's changed a lot over the years" Jack shrugged. Miko rolled her eyes, getting bored and walking over to Grimlock.

"Oh...okay" Bulkhead nodded. "I still don't get it" Jack sighed, dropping his shoulders.

"Raf, can you look up the Christmas Wiki page for him?" Jack sighed, defeated. "I-I can't keep explaining things" He rubbed his head.

"Already got it up, come here Bulkhead" Raf smiled from the platform, tilting his laptop screen to face him. Bulk narrowed his eyes at the screen, mumbling.

"Following the Protestant Reformation, blah, blah...groups such as the Puritans strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, yaddah, yaddah...considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of popery" or the "rags of the Beast?" He raised an eyebrow as he read through the article.

"A lot more to this than you think, just like you said Jack. Man, humans are weird" Bulk called as he scanned the info. Jack nodded as he walked away. He watched Grimlock stand the tree up and slide it in the slot. He let go and after swaying slightly, it stood tall and strong. The Dinobot slapped his palms together, dusting them off.

"Me think it look nice"

"Yeah, good job Grim" Miko smiled. "Decoration time" She smiled. Arcee raised an eyebrow.

"Why do we have a dead tree in our Command Center again?"

Jack took a deep sigh before raising his palms. "Okay...so at Christmas time..."

...

The huge Cybertronian Gunship roared through the clouds before coming to a very low hover over a desolate, remote area: The high mountains in Scotland. Fog and low cloud rumbled over the freezing snow gladdened landscape and hid the ship as it touched down on the mountain's flat peak. Still and tall triangular trees filled the gaps between fields and mountains. The gunship calmed it's wining and the thrusters slowly cooled and powered down.

The ramp of the ship opened its maw of a mouth and Blackout stepped out first, stretching his back.

"Why do thy make them so small" He groaned, twanging his rotor blades. Airachnid stepped out next along with Tailgate, who gave her a wide birth.

Finally, Flamewar emerged. She smirked as they all looked out over the maze of mountains and snow for miles, forests lathering the land. Silence was echoing for miles.

"Where are we?" Blackout asked.

"Scotland. This part of the continent is high up on the earth and rather desolate. Only settlements near here are miles away"

"So...a base?" Blackout asked.

"No, an ambush site, a game reverse if you will" Flamewar chuckled. "We will draw Arcee here, and she will be ours for the killing" She looked out of the trapping high mountains and sheets of trees. Tailgate sighed. His anger from Cybertron had died down over the years, and he'd started to feel guilt for his actions on Cybertron. But when he looked at the team, he knew he couldn't back out. He was in deep with the wrong crowd.

"Hmm, I like it" Airachnid chuckled. "I do love to hunt" She smirked. Blackout nodded.

"So how do we draw her here?"

Flamewar was bouncing something in her palm, other hand on her hip: The Time shifter, a Relic.

"A Relic, how'd you get that?" Blackout ventured, Airachnid nodding.

"A little something I picked up on Cybertron, a memento. I've been planning her death for a long time Blackout, this isn't new to me" She snarled.

"We will use this Relic to lure her here. She will come looking for it. Because of the location, similar to the forest you first encountered her human in Airachnid; she will come with her human. She must believe it's a simple scouting mission. Find and retrieve this. They will underestimate the terrain...and its inhabitants...us" She smirked. Airachnid raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know-"

"I have been watching her for a very long time Airachnid, I know what she thinks, I know what she does, and I know everything about her!" She growled, a glowing jagged grin glowing as her voice grow louder and angrier.

"Do not underestimate me spider" She calmed as the smile disappeared.

"So when do we set the trap?" Blackout asked.

"Immediately. We will lure her out when the world is celebrating their tradition, known as...Christmas. With humans slacking off, she will have no backup"

"what about the bots?" Tailgate asked.

"Hush my sweet, we will can them, lure them into the forests" Flamewar cooed.

"No need" Airachnid smirked "I can set up a Jammer. These mountains are a perfect place to hide it"

"Excellent. When they arrive, we will have them in our sights" Flamewar stepped up the side of the mountain, clenching her flaming fists as she looked out over the maze of mountains and forests. Blackout stood beside her along with Airachnid and Tailgate, smirking evilly. All they had to do now was set the trap, and allow her to spring it.

"SHE WILL NOT ESCAPE US!" Flamewar demonically roared as her grin returned, carving up her face and glowing with a mouthful of fire.


	4. Chapter 4: An innocent meeting

The tall tree stood broad and firm in the Autobot Command Center, yet Ratchet was finding reason after reason to complain.

"Look at all these pine needles everywhere! Primus this is going to take forever to clean!" Ratchet grumbled. Miko rolled her eyes as she threw the wraps of glittering tinsel around the tree, stood high up in Grimlock's open palm, holding his thumb for support.

"Thanks Grimmy!" She smiled as he lowered her down. The huge tree was swirled in glistening silvers and gold, looking stunning against the green Scotch pine tree.

"I think we're done. Raf?" Miko called around the tree. Bumblebee lowered his palms, gently holding Raf. He cared for the boy so much so that he would always use two palms to cup him and hold him for safety. Over their time on Earth, Arcee had picked up on this along with Optimus. They respected Bumblebee the more for it.

However, Jack and Arcee weren't even on site neither was Optimus or Bulkhead. Miko hopped out of Grimlock's palm before he raised them to his hips, nodding at the eye level summit of the tree. Miko raised her fingers in a photo frame pose, tongue peeking out and one eye closed.

"Hmm, something's missing..." she tapped her chin.

"The star?" Raf shrugged. Miko's eyes popped wide, clicking her fingers.

"Of course, but argh, we don't have anything like that" Miko pouted.

"You got all this stuff, but no star? From what Raf tells me, it's an important part of decorating this corpse" Bumblebee shrugged. Raf chuckled.

"Just because the tree's dead, doesn't mean you have to call it a corpse Bee!" Raf smiled. Bumblebee smirked as he rolled his optics.

"Then what do we call it? It's an abomination! Taking a living tree and cutting it down to decorate it in...Glitter?! Despicable" Ratchet spat from the terminal. Miko narrowed her eyes at him. Raf walked forwards on his stubby legs.

"Ratchet, these trees have been tradition since the sixteenth Century, maybe earlier! Early modern Germany used them and it spread with popularity" Raf explained as he nudged his glasses back onto his nose ridge. Ratchet spat air out of his pursed lips with disgust.

"So?"

"Here" Raf opened his laptop and after a while of searching nodded as he found what he needed. "Here Ratchet, listen...The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Tree worshiping was common among the Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmas time" Raf took a long inhale after reading it all.

"Where did you get all that?" Ratchet raised an eyebrow, hands on hips. Raf shrugged as he blinked at Ratchet.

"Wikipedia"

"Hmm...Interesting...may need to look into this...Wilkikipedia" Ratchet mumbled to himself as he turned, complete forgetting what the argument was about. Raf scoffed and slapped his palms against his sides.

"He goes crazy about the tree, then turns around like nothing happened...and it's Wiki...Pedia" Raf separated the word into syllables.

"That's our cranky-pants Ratchet!" Miko chuckled with an elbow nudge to Raf. Ratchet simply worked away on the bridge. Grimlock sat on his aft with a thud that shook the base, both feet spread out. He was mimicking the way Miko was sat beside Raf. Her legs were splayed out on the floor in a V shape and she rested back on her straight arms and palms, holding her up. Grimlock copied. She flicked her feet every now and then, the titan copying.

She peered up at the Dinobot as he watched her. She decided to test the water, scratching the back of her head. Grimlock's huge hand moved up and did the same.

"Why's he copying me?" She whispered to Raf. He peered up from his screen at Miko then Grimlock.

"Never encountered humans before. Maybe he's studying you" Raf shrugged. She looked at him with a _"Seriously?"_ expression, pigtails and upper eyelids lowered. .

"Really? Grimlock...studying" she raised an eyebrow. Raf shrugged again, blinking at her. Miko looked back to Ratchet.

"So where's-stop it" She cut her own sentence short as Grimlock copied her movements. As soon as she ordered him to cease, he sagged his shoulders and got up, walking over to the set of crates and sitting on them, like a throne. Miko slapped herself back to the conversation and from the sulking Dinobot, who was cooped up in a base not meant for him.

"Anyway, so where's everyone?" she shrugged.

"Bulkhead and Smokescreen are out on patrol in the town, Optimus and Arcee are out looking for Energon deposits, and Jack is in New Jasper, said he needed to get some things done for..." Ratchet fell silent before the word he hated to say.

"Say it..." Miko smirked as Ratchet stopped his sentence. "Saaaay iiiiit" She longed out her words. A deep sigh and shoulder sag followed from the medical officer.

"...Christmas" Ratchet mumbled.

"Why do you hate it?" Raf asked.

"Rafael, I have fought a war for...well, you were still crawling out of the ocean and growing legs no doubt. To be here now and going through human traditions with ridiculous names is beyond me"

"But they're fun, and we want to share them with you" Miko smiled. Ratchet felt his cold spark thaw. He huffed and smiled gently at the two kids as they turned back to Bumblebee. He watched from the terminal as Bumblebee bent down, high fiving Miko and Raf.

"Good work on the tree guys!" Bee chuckled, making both of the children laugh. Ratchet smiled.

"Merry Christmas" Ratchet chuckled quietly before turning to the terminal to finish his repairs.

...

Jack was in town, walking around with his hands deep in his grey Hoodie pockets. Even though they were in Nevada, every breath made a cloud of cool condensation, hot and cold air combining. He had a black shoulder strapped bag swinging across his torso and by his waist. He was lost in his thoughts as he mindlessly wandered along the path, walking by people, occasionally brushing shoulders.

_First Christmas with the bots and with Cee as my girlfriend...okay...this shoulder be fun...I hope. I mean I got my gift for Cee sorted, she'll love t...I hope. All the other stuff for the bots was done between me, Mom, Fowler, Miko and Raf, so that's done too...I feel like I'm forgetting something. Not wrapping paper, just bought that...what was it? _

He was snapped from his daze as his shoulder hit something, sending him twirling round.

"Ow, what the-" He stopped when he saw a familiar face picking up the items she'd dropped from the impact: Sierra, her red hair swaying as she fumbled.

"Oh...Sorry about that Sierra" Jack apologized as he bent down helping her. Once her items were back in grasp they stood up straight, her bold eyes meeting his.

"Hey Jack! Haven't seen you since Halloween. Did you have a good one?" she asked eagerly. He shrugged.

"Oh...you know, the usual"

_Yep, the usual: Had Halloween celebration with Cybertronians, fought and won Scraplet infestation, built super advanced suit, and had sex with my Cybertronian Sparkmate...yeah...the usual. A really good usual though...especially the last b-_

"Jack?" Sierra met his miles away gaze. He snapped back.

"Oh hey!" he nervously chuckled blushing at his previous thought.

"You were saying about how you've been?" She curled her straight red hair around her finger.

"Yeah, no, the usual, work and such. You?" Jack's shoulders bobbed. She shrugged in response.

"Yeah, I've been working with my dad out in Cyprus for a month. He's with the UN"

"Wow, no kidding? Good time?" Jack listened.

"Yeah, like, real good time, a lot of awesome stuff going on out there. We were on a British base site. Man those guys are tough" she nodded.

"Yeah, I've heard" Jack thought back to when Jazz, Cee and himself were trying to stop Decepti-Sapien robberies in London, seeing SAS snipers jumping rooftops and balconies in the darkness.

"So...Jack. I was heading to the mall to finish my shopping and...Well...did you...want to get a cup of coffee?" She asked nervously.

"Sorry, I've got a girlfriend, but I appreciate the offer, really" Jack surrendered his palms up.

"Oh, you do, that Sadie girl still?" She growled.

"Yeah..." he raised an eyebrow.

"Look, one innocent coffee, just to catch up. Can't two friends do that?" Sierra asked with a shoulder bob. Jack rubbed the back of his neck.

"I...guess they can. I am seeing her later and it sound like you have quite the story to tell about Cyprus. Why not" Jack smiled as they began walking towards the Mall.

"So...why'd you ask if I'm still with her? Did we seem...off?" Jack asked the female for her incite.

"Well I can't remember the last time I saw you with her. Is she busy or something?" Sierra shrugged.

"You could say that" Jack nervously chuckled.


	5. Chapter 5: Energon Mine

A Vehicon's head slammed against the cave wall and the V shaped visor flickered red before falling lifeless. The body dropped to its slender knees and finally slammed down on its scorched chest. More Vehicons hid behind large blue Energon crystals. Blaster shots fired, hitting the cover they were taking. On the opposite side of the cave being a huge Decepticon drill, Arcee aimed around the side of the huge sharp edged horizontal cone, a smirk slapped on her face.

A Vehicon leaned out into the path of the round, blowing his head asunder. The body jerked back and dropped without a squirm, another Vehicon aiming up over the crystal and firing at the drill.

Arcee tucked back behind it, raising both blasters.

"Gah, what a rush! Been a while since I got to fight some Cons!" she cheered. Optimus was on the other side of the drill, blaster raised to his shoulder, and battle mask engaged over his mouth.

"Indeed, but keep your adrenaline under control" Was all Optimus said as he leaned out and fired a blue blast, eradicating a Vehicon's metal skull. It shattered like thin plastic.

"Yes sir. You sound like my old master sometimes" She said as she leaped out from behind the drill, sprinting out at the cons, leaping the crystal and back flipping, changing to her two wrist blades in mid air. She landed in a knelt position, slicing the blades outwards and cutting two Vehicons in half. The halves slid apart and dropped with sparking pops. She immediately spun, aiming blasters and decapitating the heads of the last two Vehicons. She stood tall and exhaled with a content smile. She peered over at Optimus who was stood staring at her with a "What did I just say?" Expression slapped on his faceplate.

"Sorry Optimus. Got a little carried away"

"Did you always ignore your master?" Optimus chuckled gently.

"Sometimes. To be fair, I couldn't get away with much. Just like you. Won't happen again sir" She reverted back to her second in command state of mind.

He walked by her as he pat her small shoulder. "You did well Arcee. But next time...leave some for me" the Prime smiled behind the faceplate. She nodded with a gentle smile. She walked forward, following Optimus deeper into the cave.

"You want to know what I don't understand Optimus?" Arcee called as she clambered over a tall crystalin the middle of the narrowing path. Optimus slid around it.

"I'm listening Arcee" He said in his deep tone.

"Why has this mine been left for so long? I mean look how much Energon is still here!" She said, squeezing her curvy, slender frame around a sharp reaching fist of crystallized Energon.

"I must admit, I was wondering the same thing myself. Stay on guard"

"May be a trap?" She finished the Prime's statement. He peered over his shoulder.

"Arcee, "May" implies there is a chance there will not be any Decepticons awaiting our arrival"

"Oh there definitely will be. That was a lot of Vehicons back there. Question is..."

"Who will be up ahead" Optimus finished her sentence. They both slipped under the arm of a blue glowing crystal.

"I am starting...argh, to regret...picking a truck for my alternative form" Optimus said as he just managed to slip down the now tight rocky passage, darkness surrounding them.

"Motorcycle: small, fast, and slim" Arcee smirked, before getting her hips wedged between a crystal and the wall. "Except...the hips" she growled, shimmying out and carrying on, hoping Optimus didn't see. Optimus chuckled gently under his breath as they finally cleared the shrinking tunnel, entering a huge cavern, stalactites the size of skyscrapers hanging from the mile high ceiling of rock. Blue glittering crystals prickled the walls of the caves like cyan stars.

"Primus! Look at the size of this place!" Arcee whispered. Optimus nodded as he peered around. They both stood tall on the lip of the tunnel exit.

Suddenly the darkness turned bright as a white flare launched upwards from the cave floor hundreds of yards away and downwards. They both knelt down behind a huge rock, peering over it.

"Who is it? Can you tell?" Arcee asked.

"Arcee, now may be a time to deploy the Nucleon charge rifle" Optimus said as he handed her a folded up black rectangle from his back. She took it, the rifle forming in her hands, barrel sliding longer and scope manifesting along the top as the stock sprung out into her shoulder. An orange hum illuminated from the barrel. She lifted the much larger sniper rifle onto the rock cover, squinting as she aimed down as another white flare was launched from the ground, almost miles away and below them.

The scope danced as she tried to pinpoint the targets. She finally saw them, the scope bobbing on the targets.

"Lord Megatron, this place is a gold mine of Energon!" shouted the shrieking voice of Starscream. Arcee flared a lip as she began to tense the trigger. Optimus's hand graced her shoulder. She peered up as he shook his head at her. She complied for now, going back to winged slender figure of Starscream walked around in a pacing stride.

"Lord Megatron? Lord Megatron? Blast it, too far underground!" He slapped his palm down to his thigh. Optimus and Arcee both tried their communicators, both getting static. They both peered at one another.

"I told you!" Came the voice of vanity: Knockout. The pristine red Decepticon medic crossed his arms and he shook his head at Starscream.

"What are you shaking your tiny head at?"

"Tiny? At least I have rugged good looks. What about you. A chin I can use to pry doors open" Knockout insulted. Starscream shoved him, getting a shove back.

"Seriously? Megatron sends these two?" Arcee raised an eyebrow to Prime.

"I did not feel the need to vocalize anything...but yes, they are quite pedantic" Optimus rolled his optics, Arcee chuckling gently under her breath, turning back to the scope.

"So...I can't blow their processors apart?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No Arcee, stay focused. We may be able to apprehend them, and they may release sensitive information; we must pay attention" Optimus educated her. She reluctantly bit back the urge to pull the trigger on Starscream's temple. It wasn't Optimus's words that stopped her; it was what Jack told her: The thin line. She huffed and released the trigger.

"Arcee, keep an eye on them. I will attempt to traverse this path and get down to them" He started to crouch off when he stopped.

"Oh, you may require this, just in case" He handed her the thermal clip for the sniper rifle. With a raised brow she checked the guns chamber, seeing it was spent of all Energon.

"You gave me an empty rifle?" she asked with a hand on her crouched hip. He shrugged.

"I felt the need to test your feelings towards Starscream. I am glad to see you have taken a higher road. Jack is a very intelligent young boy" Optimus held out the clip, which she snatched, narrowing her eyes at the Prime.

"Go. Now" she smirked at him with a shake of her head. Optimus held a smile beneath his engaged faceplate, turning and leaping down the side of the stalactite wall.

"For a Prime he can be a real aft sometimes" She chuckled to herself, loading the rifle and aiming at Starscream and Knockout.

Meanwhile, hundreds of feet down at the floor of this titanic open crevasse, Knockout and Starscream continued to argue, unawares of the Prime gently and silently clambering down the rocky face.

"Well, maybe if you didn't worry about your paint job all the time, or racing those insect humans, you might have gotten promoted by now! You know, maybe sometime before this planet's star goes out!" Starscream shoved. Knockout scoffed with dismay.

"Oh, and like you're such a great commander? You've been exiled by Megatron more times than I care to remember, you lost an arm to Optimus, which_ I_ replaced, and then went on to lose two fingers to Arcee, which _I_ replaced!" Knockout counted the reasons off on his fingers before he jabbed a cold metal digit at Starscream's chest.

"Look, let's just collect what Megatron sent us to collect. The Dark Energon signature is strong, so it must be here" Starscream changed the subject and looked up, just as Optimus managed to silently leap behind a rock for cover. Starscream shook his head and looked to his Energon tracker. The readings spiked as he walked forwards and a series of beeps grew in frequency.

"Dark Energon?" Optimus raised an optic ridge. He peered around the rock at the two Decepticons walking away. With their backs turned, he shimmied out and gently leaped down to the floor below with a silent thump.

"Arcee, keep them in your sights" He whispered.

"Roger that" she came back over the communicator. Optimus, while keeping low, jogged forward with light footfalls under him, blaster raised on his right arm.

Starscream and Knockout were walking forward to the edge of another drop off, deeper into this huge crevasse. A loud rushing waterfall gushed down the sides of the rocky smooth eroded walls. Starscream narrowed his red optics at a purple glow at the bottom of the deep underground oasis.

"there it is! Must have gotten washed down here by the ocean currents. Come on" Starscream transformed and blasted his jet form down the side of the waterfall to the dark oasis below.

"Easy for you, you don't have to climb down and back up" Knockout sighed with a shoulder shrug. He felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around with a cocked eyebrow at Optimus's blaster pointed in his face. The Prime shushed him with a finger raised to his closed battle mask.

"Scrap" was all Knockout sighed.

Meanwhile, Starscream dived to the top of the oasis, the lapping froth of the waterfall gushing around him, deafeningly loud so close to it. He transformed and landed on a peaking rock. He knelt down on his slender legs, looking at the ripple purple glow, trying to see it beneath the waves. Tapping his chin with his sharp digit, he lent down further, dipping his right arm into the water and reaching down to the bottom, feeling the silt sliding between his digits. The muddy slush moved like gritty gel between his moving fingers.

"Where...is it?" He groaned, his head turned sideways, very close to the water. Finally he felt the handle and sighed with relief and a smirking grin.

"Yes!" He cheered, hauling it up best he could. It was stuck in the ground like Excalibur's sword in the stone.

"Gah! Why...won't you...come...out already!" He groaned, tugging as hard as he could, trying not to fall in. With a defeated grunt, he fired his wrist missile under the water and moments after the bubbling amber light exploded with a muffled bang, he jerked the sword free.

He lifted the massive purple glowing sword from the waves, water dripping from its terrifying hue.

"Yes! Oh yes, the Dark Star Saber! Oh this will please Megatron greatly!" He then stopped, his pleased grin turning to an evil smirk. He tapped his chin again.

"Or...it can be used to kill him...take my place on the throne of the Decepticons...yes"

"Errr...Starscream? d-did you find it?" Knockout called as if someone else put the words in his mouth. Starscream rolled his optics.

"Can't have five minutes to my self-Yes I'll be right there!" Starscream grumbled. He lifted the sword with a heave and activated his thrusters, flying upwards with the Saber in grip.

Moments later he chucked the sword up over the ledge with a clang, rolling slightly. Starscream's left hand grabbed the ledge as did the opposite, hauling himself upwards. He stood up, dusting himself off.

"I must tell you Knockout that was quite filthy down there. No place for a bot obsessed with his looks" Starscream rolled his eyes, not having looked at Knockout yet. "No offense-" He peered up, stopping his sentence and lowering his fingers.

Knockout was arms crossed, an annoyed expression on his face, as Optimus held a blaster to the back of his head.

"None taken" He growled.

"Starscream, hand over the Dark Star Saber, and we will leave in peace" Optimus ordered. Starscream spat air with disbelief.

"Oh I doubt it! I mean, we have yet to see the full capabilities of this weapon!" Starscream reached down quickly, hauling the heavy sword upwards. Seconds later a shot sounded and a round impacted the sword, knocking it from Starscream's grip. He squealed and flinched. Moments later he reopened his tightly sealed optics, lowering his arms that hid his face.

"You err...you aren't alone are you" Starscream sighed. Optimus simply shook his head. Starscream let out an annoyed growl before throwing his arms up in the air. Optimus walked around Knockout, blaster still raised as he stood between them both. Starscream smirked, clenching his left fist and firing his last remaining missile upwards into the ceiling. Optimus stared up immediately as the amber glow of the missile rose higher and higher up the darkened shaft of a ceiling. Starscream quickly reached down while the Prime was distracted, grasping the Saber and swiping it across Optimus's chest. The Prime roared in agony as he fell back.

Arcee gasped in shock and fired at Starscream, only for it to bounce off the sword. He saw her, grinning as he swung the sword, unleashing an energy blast of purple energy towards her.

"Uh-oh. Time to roll out!" she shouted, abandoning her sniper rifle and leaping off the ledge as the purple energy destroyed the ledge in an outwards eruption of rock and Energon crystal.

"You idiot, this whole place is an Energon gold mine!" Knockout growled as Starscream looked up, the missile finally reaching the roof of the cave and exploding, a tiny bright pop from their view. Optimus lay on his back, sitting up, clutching his chest as he aimed at Starscream, firing and hitting his wrist, making him drop the Dark Star Saber.

"Gah!" He growled, looking at Optimus.

"Now to kill a Prime" He snarled, aiming his wrist blaster at Optimus's head. Suddenly Arcee slammed into Starscream, her wrist blades extended, sparks flying from the slice. Sunlight began to pierce the roof as it was collapsing; sinking.

Optimus sat up, attempting to contact base.

"Ratchet! We...argh...require an immediate ground bridge!" He called over the rumbling crashing of rock.

"Right away!" Ratchet's static stained voice responded. Knockout realized then that they could make contact with the outside world.

"Soundwave, Bridge us! Now!" Knockout shouted. Starscream had Arcee on top of him, slashing at his face.

"Get off me! Insect!" he snarled, punching her and kicking her off. As she sailed through the air, she calmed herself, slowing time and aiming her wrist blaster at him.

"This is for Cliff you son of a glitch" She snarled, firing before hitting the ground. The white hot Energon blast flew towards him, burning across his face.

"Gah!" He cried in agony, clutching his sizzling face, the left side burned and scarred.

"You'll pay for that!" He went to reach for the Dark Saber, seeing it gone. The cave was collapsing around him, yet he searched for it, only to see Optimus using it a crutch to limp through the portal to home.

"NOOO!" Starscream roared as he opened fire, burning scolding Energon wounds up Prime's back. He groaned but made it through, Arcee covering him. She looked at all the Energon in this gold mine.

"Well, if we can't have it...neither can you" She snarled, aiming her wrist blaster at a huge deposit of Energon crystals. She smirked at Starscream as he clocked onto what she was doing.

"No, I am not getting buried again!" Starscream shouted as he staggered back, a bridge opening behind the two Cons. Knockout quickly sprinted through as the quaking ceiling caved, tonnes and tonne of rock descending.

Arcee fired at the Energon, blowing the deposit sky high in a bright blue eruption. The scarred face of Starscream snarled at her before he ran through his portal and it closed. Seconds later a huge slab of rock landed where their bridge was. Arcee peered up at a titanic stalactite rock falling down on her.

"Oh Scrap" She winced, closing her eyes tight. Suddenly it stopped, gears whirring and grinding in tremendous agony behind her. She reopened her eyes and turned as Grimlock was stood at the maw of the portal holding it up, his knees quaking. The rock was three times his size, his massive arms bulging as he tried to keep it off her.

"This...really...heavy" He groaned, dropping to his right knee with a thud. Arcee nodded, quickly running by him as he dropped it. He peered over as the whole cave's Energon deposit erupted in a titanic blue explosion, filling the collapsing cave with blue light. Grimlock leaped back through and the bridge closed just in time. The entire cave erupted upwards in a massive explosion that measured a four on the Richter Magnitude scale, finally dropping back down, creating a three mile wide sinkhole in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, sand sifting and falling down the walls of the new sinkhole like a waterfall.

...

Grimlock slid along the ground in a knelt pose, stopping in the Command Center. With his left palm pressed against the floor before him and his right in a bunched up fist, he lifted his head and looked heroically at the closed portal.

"Oh he's so awesome! Miko cheered. Arcee caught her breath, even though she didn't need to, a simple trait that Jack passed to her. she stood up tall and quenched her breath with a gulp.

"Won't be doing that for a while" She nervously chuckled. Optimus sat down on the medical berth with Ratchet's aid.

"What happened, and how did you get that?!" Ratchet shouted, pointing at the Dark Star Saber lent against the wall.

"No idea it was there. Starscream and Knockout were looking for it. We got it before them, but not before Starscream caused the cave to collapse. we lost all the Energon Ratchet" She sighed heavily.

"Doesn't matter, as long as you are both safe" Ratchet said, warming Arcee's spark at his compassion.

"Thanks Ratchet" she smiled. He simply looked over Optimus's chest wound.

"Mmm, yes-yes. This will heal fine. Go take a decontamination bath Optimus" He said as he looked over the gash. Optimus nodded, rising to his feet, only for Grimlock to catch him, helping him walk to the chamber. Ratchet and Arcee smiled as they watched Grimlock help.

"Spark of gold that guy" Bumblebee smiled. "So what happened in that mine?" He crossed his arms.

"Starscream" She shrugged.

"But I thought the Saber fell from Megatron's grip when I stabbed him?" Bumblebee asked.

"It did. Guess it somehow found its way from the ocean floor, to the crevasse. it was at the bottom of a waterfall, so it could have gotten washed away" Arcee shrugged again. Ratchet returned from placing the Saber in a radiation sealed box, thick of steel and concrete: untraceable.

"Possible, but I fear there is more to this. Why wait four years to retrieve it? Why now?" Ratchet asked, both Arcee and Bumblebee not sure what to say.

"Anyways, where's Jack?" Arcee asked, changing the subject. She looked at Miko, who quickly hid her phone after reading a text. Arcee narrowed her eyes at her, suspicious of her behavior.

"Miko?"

"What? I don't know where Jack is, oh god no. No...no, no, no, no" she badly lied. Arcee crossed her arms.

"Miko? You wouldn't be lying to me now, would you?" She asked, sternly.

"He's having coffee with Sierra" She answered immediately, even pointing to Jack's text message for back up proof. Raf scoffed.

"Wow. Good thing you never knew Anne Frank" Raf sighed, slapping his forehead. Arcee was blinking at them, her face unchanged.

"Arcee?" Miko ventured. She carried on blinking. Bee flinched slightly.

"I think I just saw Cee's processor snap" He whispered, Ratchet nodding.

"Ar...cee"? Miko waved her hand, trying to snap her dazed look.

"Hmm? I'm fine. He wants to chat with a human girl, let him" she shrugged, walking off down the hallway of the base. Everyone sighed with relief. Miko swiped her wrist along her brow.

"Whew. Really expect one of Arcee's famous angry ram-"

"WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?! I MEAN, A HUMAN GIRL?! SIERRA?! ALL SHE DOES IS CAUSE TROUBLE!" Arcee roared to herself as she stormed down the hall.

"...pages" Miko finished her sentence. Raf shook his head at her.

"What?" she shrugged.

"You just love winding her and Jack up don't you?"

"I really do" She chuckled.

"You know she's insecure about that stuff" Raf whispered quietly.

"Really?" Miko asked. Raf nodded.

"I overheard her and Jack talking once. Not eavesdropping, by accident. She gets scared he'll go for a "compatible"human instead of her" he used air quotes with his fingers.

"Really? Arcee?" Miko asked. "Arcee...Insecure?"

"About Jack, yeah" Raf shrugged.

"Oh...What is this weird feeling in my stomach?" Miko asked. Raf scoffed and shook his head.

"It's called guilt Miko!"


	6. Chapter 6: Problems with a Sparkmate

Sierra sat with Jack in the coffee shop, each wrapping their palms around their cups for warmth. Steam rose from the frothy coffee in the cup. The smell and intoxicating aroma of the coffee beans sent shivers down Jack's spine. The clinking of cups and inaudible chattering of customers filled their ears. Christmas decorations filled the cavity that was the coffee shop.

"So, sounds like you had a great time" Jack smiled as he sipped his coffee. Sierra nodded.

"Yeah, I really did. Like I said, my dad was there with the UN, so I was on base for a while, but it was nice to explore. Go see Aphrodite's rock, touristy stuff" Sierra shrugged with a nervous chuckle.

"Sounds fun"

"I erm...I saw...you got..." Sierra cleared her throat after choking on her words "New leg?"

"Oh right, yeah I got rid of that bulky one and...You know, upgrade" He smiled as he knocked his fist against the metal shin. Sierra giggled as she sipped from her coffee. Jack couldn't believe it. Here he was, having coffee with Sierra...and he felt absolutely nothing towards her. It was a sense of pure relief. Proof that he had matured, that he'd found his soul mate.

"So erm...how's Ar-Sadie" Sierra corrected with gritted her teeth.

"Yeah Sadie's good, nice to see her relaxing sometimes. She works too hard. I always tell her that, but she never listens" Jack scoffed.

"Yeah, that sounds like her" Sierra looked down at her cup.

"You've met her?" Jack raised an eyebrow

"Well, we had that run in at Halloween remember"

"Oh yeah...sorry about that" Jack chuckled.

"Don't worry about it. So, you think you and her are..." Sierra tried to find the word. Jack slowly cocked an eyebrow.

"Permanent?" she asked. Jack's eyebrows rose in unison and he realized what she meant.

"Oh! Err...I hope so. I love her. She loves me. Hopefully nothing comes between us" Jack shrugged, looking down at his coffee cup as he swigged.

"Yeah, hopefully" Sierra snarled. Jack gulped the last of his coffee, wincing at the final few drops of sludgy coffee water at the bottom, where it had settled over time. He popped the polystyrene cup down with a clap and checked his phone for the time, careful so no one saw the screensaver of Arcee blowing him a kiss from her open palm, a wink to her left eye. He'd been there for an hour.

"Well, it's been nice catching up with you Sierra, real nice. Make sure to stay in touch, yeah?" Jack asked as he got up from his seat, throwing his bag strap over his shoulder. She nodded up at him as she stood too.

"Yeah...definitely. Good to see you again Jack" She smiled warmly.

"Yeah...you too, take care. Merry Christmas" Jack smiled as he turned and walked away from the table, out of the coffee shop double doors.

Sierra smirked villainously. She lifted a finger to her ear.

"You get all that?" her voice now lower and huskier.

"Oh yes, that is definitely my Jack. And Arcee goes by the name Sadie now...well, that will be something us gals need to catch up on" Airachnid's husky tone sounded in her ear. Sierra chuckled, turning and heading out of the coffee shop.

As she exited the mall and headed to the car park, Sierra dissipated into holographic ripples, before finally disappearing. An orange and black Motorcycle hummed to life and slowly rolled out of the car park with a black and orange leather-clad Sadie on her back, helmet in place.

"So, Arcee has a human Sparkmate, huh? My, my, I thought what I saw was a flaw in my optics, but no...It's true. What an abomination. Jack...hmmm...Jack. We may be able to use this new information to our advantage. I'm heading back to the outskirts, Tailgate, bring the Gunship around...we're going back to Scotland, and setting the trap" She snarled, racing off out of New Jasper.

Meanwhile, Jack exited the Mall with everything he had needed to buy. He accidentally bumped shoulders with someone: Sierra.

"Sierra?" he creased an eyebrow.

"Hey... Jack right? Nice to see you, I can't chat, sorry, gotta run!" She ran off into the Mall. Jack was left with the most confused expression.

"Uh-huh. Bad memory...she may want to look into that" Jack shook his head, walking off towards a nearby dark alleyway.

"Here'll do" He flipped his phone open and held it to his ear after dialing a few digits. He stood in the empty concealed alley.

"Hey Ratchet, I need a bridge...thanks" He said, hanging up. Soon a green hue emitted and a swirling vortex of light erupted before him, fluttering newspaper remains and empty packets. He stepped through the portal, closing behind him, just as an Orange and Black Arcee motorcycle raced by the slit of an alleyway.

...

Jack stepped out into the Command Center, looking up at the huge tree.

"Wow! You guys did good!" Jack chuckled as Miko and Raf were sat on a crate, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Guys?" He shrugged. Miko avoided his gaze more than Raf did. He then knew she had done something.

"Miko, what stupid thing did you do?" He asked, crossing his arms, just like Arcee.

"What? Dude, I haven't done anything" She pouted. Jack simply raised an eyebrow sternly.

"I may...may...have let slip to Arcee about you meeting Sierra" She winced. Jack huffed with a groan.

"And she may...may...have looked as if she was going to kill you" She winced further.

"Miko!" Jack shouted. "Urgh, okay...where is she?" he ran his hands down his face.

"Arcee is currently training in the combat simulator room, end of the far corridor" Ratchet looked over his shoulder.

"We have a fighting simulator?!" Miko and Jack asked, Raf nodding.

"Yes, for _Cybertronian_ use only! To keep Grimlock calm and give him something to vent on, it also lets us practice and keep our skills sharp" Ratchet explained, turning back to his terminal.

"Fine...time to go and explain to her _yet again_ that I don't like Sierra. Thanks a lot Miko" He sighed, walking by them.

"Well can you blame her?" She shouted. Jack immediately spun around, fury on his face.

"Excuse me?" He snarled through gritted teeth at her.

"Jack, take it from a chick, we don't exactly like it when boys we like hang around with other girls" Miko shrugged. Jack scoffed.

"yeah? Since when did you become the expert?"

"I didn't!" She roared, standing up, fists clenched to her side. "But imagine it for her. She's a giant alien-"

"Don't call her that" Jack hissed. Miko softened.

"Jack...she can't go out with you in public as herself, she can't walk hand in hand, she can't do anything with you outside this base!"

"Tha-that's not true! W-we went bowling before" Jack struggled to maintain the argument.

"Yeah! As a hologram! Don't you understand women at all?" Miko shrugged. Jack huffed. "She wants to be with you as herself. When she hears you've been doing what she can't with another girl..." Miko explained, eyes softer. Jack sighed heavily. Miko leaned slightly to catch his wandering gaze "Even something as simple as drinking coffee"

"But I don't like Sierra. It was just a catch up!"

"You're such a doofus sometimes" She shook her head, walking over to the crate. Jack swat his hand as he walked off. He knew Miko was right.

...

Arcee quickly swung and kicked at the floating circular holographic panels, each time she kicked one it blared an alarm and turned from green to red. They formed a ring of around twenty targets hovering around her, spinning to add difficulty. She punched and kicked at them as quick as she could. Finally all were painted red and she completed the task.

"Teletraan, reset. Need to beat my old score" She snarled, shrugging her shoulders and bouncing on the spot, ready and poised.

_Resetting course, Commander Arcee._

The red circles turned back to green and began spinning again, top layer of the ring anti-clockwise, the other clockwise. She kicked and swung at them, each swing and stride smooth and fluid.

Jack entered the room, looking into the huge open room, like a warehouse, Arcee in the middle, fighting the projections. He decided to watch, give her time to complete her target. She was so fluent and precise, each fist hitting a circle, each upper kick hitting a circle. Soon all of them were red and she stood still in the middle.

_Ma'am, overall time is: Twenty five seconds._

"Grr...Reset" she growled in frustration as they all turned green again, attacking them all at once. Jack got up from his crate and began to walk over to her, her sharp swift kicks making him slow his pace as he got nearer.

"How was your coffee?" she angrily broke the silence, swinging a boot around hitting four targets in one swing. All of them turned red and she stopped, catching her breath, even though she didn't breathe.

"Arcee, come on. Don't be like that. I saw an old friend, and wanted to catch up! Is that so bad?" Jack shrugged.

"Why didn't you feel like you could tell me?" she asked, peering down at him. He raised his arms towards her.

"This! This exact reason! Plus...I just bumped into her while I was in town, I didn't plan on meeting her" She looked away from him.

"Arcee, why are you so insecure about this?"

"I AM NOT INSECURE!" She roared, eyes blaring bright at him. He didn't flinch; he'd learned not to be afraid of her, most of the time. Sometimes she could be really scary.

"Yes you are, now stop playing the tough act in front of me, you know I see through it, always have" he firmly told her. She blew air through pursed lips.

"Yeah right"

"You don't mean that. You're afraid Arcee, I can see it in your eyes...and you're never afraid" Jack quoted from long ago, Arcee peering down at him. "Remember that? You called me a liability...and I saw through the anger you felt the need to shield yourself with. I knew you didn't mean it. Now...talk to me" He said. She shut her eyes tight from the world, from him. Slowly her lids softened and she opened them, her eyes much dimmer. She simply stood facing away from him. Jack scoffed and shook his head.

"Fine. Talk to me when you've grown up" He began to walk away. His pace sounded further away in her audio processors.

"There are other motorcycles in the world" She stammered, breaking the silence, making Jack stop. He lifted his eyes.

"But you're my first" he replied back, quoting what they said to one another after destroying the space bridge all those years ago, when they first met. When they became friends.

"That's just it Jack...I was your first Motorcycle...you were my first...Sparkmate" she sighed, keeping her eyes fixed away from him.

"How would you feel if you saw someone else running their hand over my seat...someone else talking to me?" She croaked. Jack softened at how she was. He couldn't see her face as she faced away, but her tone of voice translated the emotion.

"Cee..."

"But you're also human...a human needs another human to be compatible...and...I'm not that" She sighed heavily. Jack turned around.

"Is that what this has all been about? You're scared aren't you?" Jack asked.

"I am not scared" She longed out the syllables as she bit back her emotions.

"Cee, that's it though isn't it? Are you scared...that I'm going to leave you for a..."Compatible human?" Sierra?" Jack asked as he grew near her.

"Teletraan, restart simulation-"

"No Teletraan, ignore that!" Jack called. "Cee. Look at me" He called from below.

"I lost Tailgate...I lost Cliffjumper...I've only ever bonded with you, and while it scares me enough that you could die being with us Autobots...the Cons, the war. What scares me just as much...is you not loving me anymore" She heavily sighed. "Leaving me...all on my own" she trembled.

Jack could see and hear the patter of Energon tears falling from her height.

"Arcee, turn around" he called. She sealed her eyes tight and turned around to face him, dropping to her knee.

"Cee, open your eyes" He silently whispered. She complied, slowly revealing her glassy optics.

"I am never...ever going to leave you" Jack smiled gently. Arcee let tears graze her cheek. She only ever released these built up emotions in front of him, never anyone else. But bottling it up for that amount of time, can take a toll.

"But-" she started, being shushed by Jack's finger on her lips.

"No buts. No human girl is coming between us, understood?" He said, caressing her cheek. She gently nodded.

"Nothing will" he leaned up, pressing his forehead to hers, making her chuckle gently and smile for the first time in hours.

"Thank you Jack...Thank you" She huffed. He nodded as his warm palm soothed her cheek.

"I feel absolutely nothing for Sierra. I'm all yours" He chuckled. She smirked.

"Good. Do love having a plaything" she chuckled, Jack scoffing a laugh. They lifted their heads only slightly from each others brows.

"I can live with being your plaything" He smiled. She stroked his hair, raking her fingers through it.

"Good, partner" She softened her mouth with a grin. "Hey, guess what we found" Arcee smiled as Jack raised an eyebrow.

...

"You lost the Dark Star Saber?!" Megatron roared with burning wide optics of red. Starscream flinched as Megatron swung his arm.

"After losing the arm of a Prime to that Dinobot's jaws, I need that Saber to destroy Optimus Prime...and Grimlock!" He looked at his replacement arm, now the same as the silver left.

"But my lord, we had it! Those retched Autobots took it, and that Autobot scum Arcee burned my face" Starscream hissed.

"Oh she just seems to keep hurting you Starscream" Megatron chuckled at Starscream's misery. "To be honest, it seems to be that of an improvement" Megatron smirked. Starscream bared his gritted teeth at the leader.

"I will retrieve it" Starscream boldly snarled.

"No! You and Knockout have failed me too many times. I will not lose the Dark Star Saber to your idiocy!"

"So how will you retrieve it?" Starscream shrugged. Megatron peered over his shoulder at his second in command.

"Oh how narrow minded you are Starscream. You see, I have other options aboard this ship bar you and that medic"

"And that is? The Combaticons are still healing, Shockwave's dead along with Blitzwing! Who?" Starscream counted the options off on his slender fingers.

Suddenly a slender figure barged by Starscream, arms dangling to his knees at their length, the eyeless face of Soundwave peered at Starscream, then back to Megatron.

"Soundwave will retrieve the Saber for me. For that I have no doubt"

"Soundwave superior...Autobots inferior" The chilling voice of Soundwave droned.

"Do you wish to seek vengeance on the children the Autobots protect, for banishing you to the Shadowzone? For trapping you there for four solar cycles?" Megatron stood peering into his reflection on Soundwave's face. He slowly nodded to his bold leader. Megatron smirked at his most trust worthy ally.

* * *

**Author notes: Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a good one ;)**


	7. Chapter 7: It was never about the suit

"So let me get this straight...you got Megatron's sword?" Jack asked with a raised brow to the Command Center of Autobots. Ratchet stood at his terminal by the bridge controls as always, getting frustrated by its constant malfunctioning.

"Piece of junkyard scrap, stop breaking on me, or I swear on Primus I will tear you apart!" He cried out, slamming a fist down on the console. His gritted teeth slipped back behind his metal lips as he calmed and he peered at the now quiet room, staring at him with wide eyes.

Ratchet cleared his throat and turned back to the console, buffing out the fist dent while muttering to himself with a snarling lip.

"Erm, anyway...you got his sword?" Jack asked once more, Optimus peering back at Jack.

"Indeed we have. We have no understanding of how it found its way into that cavern, but alas here we are, with a Dark Energon Saber in our possession" Prime looked to the shielded container, the purple glowing sword humming, violet and black flames lapping its frame.

Jack peered closer at its impressive size, almost ten times his height, near enough Optimus's height, like Grimlock's fire sword. Grimlock stood by the Christmas tree, arms crossed, leaning against the rock carved wall.

"Me think it's an abomination. Me see what Shockwave did with dark stuff on Cybertron. Bad man" He growled, turning his head away. Miko gave him a confused gaze, looking to Bulkhead for any sort of answer. Bulkhead shook his head at her, as if not to ask. God only knows what Grimlock saw during the war. He was abducted and tested on by Shockwave, made what he is now by the maniacal doctor's experiments.

"So, what do we do with it?" Jack shrugged, Arcee nodding.

"Nothing! Too dangerous till I can figure out how to stabilize it's dark Energon power source" Ratchet explained from the terminal, not lifting his gaze once.

"Why?" Miko shrugged from the platform, eye level with Ratchet.

"Why, you ask? Because it is highly unstable! Pure Dark Energon sealed into a sword! No, absolutely not. It's safe and confined in there" Ratchet swat his hand, running scans for Energon over Earth. After the Scraplet attack, they were still short on Energon. They needed whatever they could find.

"Ratchet is correct. For some unknown factor, the Saber is highly unstable, and we have quarantined it till we can understand it's effects better, understood?" Optimus told the room, all the present bots and humans nodding. The only bots not there were Bee and Smokescreen, along with Raf, once again out in town.

"By the Allspark! Optimus, I have just located...an Iacon relic!" Ratchet said wide eyed while staring at the podium. Everyone rushed over, peering over Ratchet's shoulder at the screen, except Jack and Miko.

"What, what is it?" Jack asked.

"It is indeed a relic. But how?" Optimus asked.

"Unknown. I thought they were all recovered?" Ratchet raised a brow. The bots all shrugged, thinking the same.

"Maybe not, A lot did get sent into dark space remember. Maybe it only recently crashed" Bulkhead shrugged. Arcee stepped forward, stoic to her stride.

"Bulk's right. We need to find it, and quick, before Megatron!" Arcee slammed her fist into her palm.

"Agreed; by an off chance, we have the upper hand. Ratchet, where is it located?" Optimus asked.

"Scans are saying...Scotland highlands" Ratchet explained.

"Jeez, that'll be freezing this time of year. It's like, all the way near the top, right?" Miko shivered.

"Well, not exactly, but it is high up on Earth. It will be much colder in winter" Ratchet stated. Optimus rubbed his broad chin.

"Arcee, you and I are the only Autobots still fitted with our temperature warning beacons. He pointed to the Autobot logo on her wing.

"Oh yeah, I calibrated it to detect radiation in Chernobyl. I can set it back to temperature warnings" she replied. Optimus nodded.

"I will be unable to traverse the type of terrain in Scotland's forest highlands and mountains. Arcee, you must take someone more suited to your size" she immediately looked to Jack, shrugging.

"Coming?" She smirked. Jack nodded bravely.

"Go to Scotland, get the relic, come home. Simple" Jack grinned. "I'll grab my suit"

"Ratchet, open a bridge" Optimus ordered, watching Jack walk off to retrieve his suit.

"Not possible. The Bridge is malfunctioning as usual. You will require another form of transportation I'm afraid" Ratchet groaned, slamming a fist onto the controls again.

"Well I'm sure that helps" Arcee rolled her eyes. Ratchet growled and stormed off to the medical room to retrieve his tools. Optimus looked back at Arcee.

"I will contact Agent Fowler and request an Airplane take you there immediately" Optimus sternly said, walking to the terminal to contact the Agent.

"Yes sir" Arcee humble nodded, turning to see Jack enter the room at the end of the hall. Jack stepped into the calibration room, seeing the cube of metal on the desk, Autobot logo shimmering. He flicked the light on and the bulbs above blinked.

He ran his hand over, not sure if he was ready to return to duty.

"I'm ready...of course I'm ready...whew...okay, you can do this Jack" He closed his eyes, seeing Silas swinging the axe down onto his leg. Jack gasped and his eyes blasted open, his breath ragged. He staggered back from the cube, metal leg clanking. His eyes trembled as he stared at the still cube. Jack quenched his heavy breaths and swallowed over the rapid beating of his heart.

"Even in death, you still find a way to mess up my life" Jack growled quietly, thumping his fist against his metal leg. He shook his now sore hand.

"Ow...Okay, I can do this...I can do this..." He sighed heavily as he delved back into memory, Silas once again slicing his leg off viciously.

"I can't do this" Jack trembled. Teletraan was no longer built into the suit, he wasn't fully repaired yet, he was only functional in the base. Without him helping, it was all up to Jack. He felt a set of warm hands glide along his shoulders, coiling around him in a hug. Arcee's head lowered onto his shoulder.

"Hey...you can do it" she whispered. Jack sighed.

"How? I'm back to square one Cee"

"No you're not...don't you see Jack. That suit, it was just a cocoon. It's what you've become after you shed it that matters" she hummed.

"And what's that Cee? What am I now?" he shrugged, always wondering.

"It's not the suit of armor that did all those heroic acts Jack, it was you"

He looked at the cube and went to click it. His hand jerked back.

"You know what...I don't need it" He said, lowering his hand. Arcee raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You said it yourself Cee. It's what was inside the suit that did all that...not the armor itself...I...I don't need it. They were just...training wheels" He shrugged. "I mean, we're only going to Scotland, right? Megatron has no idea about the Relic, simply because they won't be looking for them anymore. Think of it as...recon" He shrugged.

"Jack? Last time that happened, Airachnid nearly killed us in the forest" She chuckled.

"I want to try it Cee...you're right. It wasn't this...it was me" Jack smiled, his confidence returning. It was also the fear of Silas keeping him from it.

"O-okay, as long as you're sure"

"I am. If I could destroy Airachnid's ship without it, I'm sure I can go collect a Relic without it" Jack smiled. Arcee nuzzled his cheek, kissing his ear making him squirm and chuckle gently.

"That's my hero" She soothed him. "Come on, we've gotta get a lift with Fowler. Ratchet broke the bridge again" she rolled her optics.

"Plane?"

"Plane" She nodded.

"Okay...let's go" Jack said, following her out. He stopped at the door, looking back at the armor. Like she said, the suit was a cocoon. He wanted to do something without relying on it...like the old days...like his old self. He smiled, shutting the light off and leaving the room.

...

"Is it done?" Flamewar crossed her arms, stepping from the Gunship as it returned to the summit of a mountain top in Scotland's highlands, jets blasting on either side of its hull, blowing dust and snow upwards. Blackout nodded as he knelt beside Airachnid.

"Yes...the Relic beacon has been triggered. Now we wait" Airachnid smirked.

"Good. She'll come, don't you worry" Flamewar chuckled.

"Sweety, I never fret. Now, this Time Shifter, what does it do?" Airachnid asked. Flamewar rested her palms on her orange hips.

"What it says. Allows the user to travel back to a set time, however, this is just the prototype. They never had time to complete it. It can only shift back three cycles"

"Three days?" Blackout sighed. "That's it?"

"Yeah...it is" Flamewar shook her head, walking over to the edge overlooking the mountain range of snow. Tailgate landed the ship, powering it down and stepping out the back of it.

"We set?" Tailgate asked.

"Yep, now we wait for her..." Flamewar smirked. Blackout stood up with a groan.

"I can use my ability to see if I can pick up any chatter on their whereabouts" He cricked his neck.

"What?" Flamewar cocked an eyebrow.

"Blackout can scan every airway and radio channel at once, listen to all those voices and pick out which he needs. Rather attractive, don't you think?" Airachnid smirked.

"Impressive. How come we can't do that?" Tailgate grumbled.

"I have trained most my life to hunt and kill, honed my skills...this was one of them. I nearly tore my processor apart first time I did it...so many voice at once" He shook his head.

Blackout immediately knelt down, crouching and digging his huge palm into the snow. His other balled into a tight fist.

"Focus on her voice...focus on her voice" He repeated. He finally opened the gates and every radio frequency roared with millions of different voices at once in his head. He jerked in pain, his fingers digging into the ground, back arched. He held his eyes shut tight and groaned in agony.

He listened intently for his target, groaning heavily as his body shuddered. Even though he had honed these skills over eons, he could still only hold it for a minute or two. The load of information was too great.

He began to go into shock, eyes widening and body shaking heavily. He suddenly felt warm hands in his palm, softening the load of information. Airachnid stared at him intently. It was all he needed to calm him and focus on the voices again.

"Understood Fowler, so we get taken there by plane, then drop into the forest by parachute? Yes sir. We're ready to go now" Arcee's voice sounded in his head, the millions of other voices dimming. He shut off the radio channels, smirking as he opened his eyes, silence returning to his banging headache strained temple.

"What did you hear?" Airachnid asked. He stood up, slightly dizzy.

"Whoa...urgh, my head...I...I heard Arcee. They are heading here by plane, planning to drop by chute" He nodded. Flamewar tapped her chin.

"Oh she'll drop alright...plane and all. Prepare for their arrival" she smirked villainously.


	8. Chapter 8: Heading to the Relic

In the Kalahari Desert, a huge circular sinkhole lay open, allowing scorching sunlight to sift through the dusty air and light up the rubble filled crevasse below. Like a sand timer, waves of sand shifted and slid down the sides of the open mile wide hole.

Suddenly a purple UAV drone flew over, somersaulting and morphing to a slender figure before slamming down on a sliced dune by the edge of the hole. He stood from the knelt position looking over the crevasse. Soundwave lowered his arms to his side and his chest formed a mechanical bird, taking flight and zooming down with spread wings to the crevasse. Soundwave peered around the empty desert, devoid of all life. No trees, no water, no life. He was oddly reminded of Cybertron. He peered down at the sand as it sifted and slid around his metal boot, like an ocean of gritty stones sliding like liquid. His attention returned as Laserbeak returned to him, something long in his talon grip.

Soundwave held his three fingered palm out and Laserbeak dropped the item in his huge palm. It was a bent and snapped Nucleon charge rifle. He clenched his fist around it tight, tilting the rifle remains as he looked over it. As he twisted it, he noticed a dent to its side formed by small feminine hands, obviously seconds before it was abandoned. Only one Autobot was female in that group: Arcee.

"Lord Megatron, Rifle remains acquired. Previously used by Autobot Arcee. She protects the boy...Jackson Darby, Affiliated with Miko Nakadai. Rafael Esquivel. Human counterparts, responsible for Shadowzone entrapment" Soundwave vocalized in his eerie techno voice. He only ever spoke to Megatron and Megatron alone. Never did he speak to him in front of anyone, only in private or on personal communicators.

"I see. Well then, this has just become quite interesting. Soundwave, continue your hunt. I will look forward to your next update" Megatron closed the comm channel.

"Laserbeak, return" Soundwave said as Laserbeak latched back to his chest. The eyeless spy looked up as the sun reflected off his visor. He now had his targets. All he was missing was there location. Soundwave transformed, bellowing off into the sky at great pace, breaking the sound barrier with a thump and dust expelling from the ground.

...

On the tarmac of the Air force base, the mid day sun of December beat down; Nevada midday, still hot in winter, though a cold chill of wind licked at Jack's neck. On the tarmac was a huge white plane, titanic in size. It had blue stripes etched along its rotund hull and the nose of the plane was lifted up to reveal the inside, hummers rolling inside and out. Even a Chinook was slowly rolled out from inside the huge cargo plane's hull, rotors folded up for transport. Each wing felt like it stretched for miles, two huge turbines under each wing.

"Whoa" Jack vocalized as he walked alongside Arcee under the huge wing, blotching out the sun and deafening him as he walked by the whirling Turbines. Arcee's instinct to protect him kicked in and she shielded him from the turbines.

"You leave June a note?" Arcee asked. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but this _is_ my job. She kind of expects it" Jack shrugged. Arcee shook her head with a smile that beamed down at him.

"The AN-124!" Fowler shouted with a chuckle as he approached them. "One big beauty of a plane!" He laughed over the turbine roar, looking over its extraordinary size. Jack nodded as he admired the jet.

"It is impressive" Arcee looked over its hull. "On Cybertron, our fighter jets were this size" she smirked.

"Well you're bigger than us. Sorry guys, best I could get you on, on such short notice. So you found another relic huh?" Fowler asked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, we're just as surprised as you! But Ratchet's never wrong about this stuff. If we have the drop on it before Megatron all the better" Arcee smirked, crossing her arms. Soldiers jogged by her, all looking up at her with awe struck smiles. Arcee looked over her shoulder as a Sikorsky Pave Low landed. She instinctively raised her blasters, eyes wide and jaw trembling. The awe struck soldiers turned aggressive, aiming rifles at her.

"Cee! Cee, it's okay! It's not him, he's dead, remember? He's long gone" Jack comforted her. She stared wide eyed at the huge helicopter. She read its tail: 3678X, not 4500X. Slowly her blasters dropped. Fowler managed to calm the aiming soldiers down too. To be fair to them, it was quite sudden on her part. It could have been an attack. Some even aimed at the Helicopter. Not knowing if a vehicle was a robot in disguise had its mind tricks. Arcee peered down at Fowler.

"F-Fowler, I'm so sorry. I-I erm...wasn't expecting to see one of those" She shrugged bashfully. Fowler raised an eyebrow at her.

"What in Sam Hill's name was that?"

"Arcee was attacked once by a huge Decepticon called Blackout...that was his alt form" Jack explained.

"He the big con we found smashed up at the bottom of the dam? The one Silas stole?" Fowler shrugged.

"Yeah. He was nasty, but good...long story" Jack shook his head. By the time he peered back at Arcee she was already walking over to the form of the open nose of the plane. Jack followed along with Fowler.

"Where's the suit son?" Fowler asked as he stepped up the ramp inside the darkened hull of the huge plane.

"Not using it for this. Need to do this without it. Plus it's just collecting a Relic, how hard can that be?" Jack shrugged. Fowler nodded.

"Okay, but to be safe, there's a bullet proof vest strapped up on the rack over by the door hatch" He pointed over to the rack by the door inside the plane. Jack noted it, nodding. Jack sat in his seat along the side of the hull. The seats made a row along the right and left side looking at one another across the hull, allowing room in the center of the plane to get supplies aboard.

"Now, this plane is heading to an Air force base in Scotland. You guys'll have to land there then head to where ever this Relic is" Fowler explained.

"Scottish Highlands" Arcee shrugged as she knelt down, transforming into her motorcycle form as Soldiers carefully put straps over her and connected them to hooks on the floor of the plane, securing her.

"Ah only an hour drive from the base" Fowler shrugged. Jack nodded as he buckled in tight with a click. Fowler nodded, patting Jack's shoulder.

"Right, good luck son...Arcee" Fowler nodded. Jack smiled and gave him a nod back as Fowler left the plane. Other soldiers stepped inside, taking their seats and buckling in. Two large crates of ammunition and supplies filled the bay along with a Chinook helicopter. The huge machine had its two sets of rotors folded up, like hair in a ponytail. Its massive hull was strapped to the floor of the plane and the lid of the plane nose slowly lowered, sealing all natural light out. Jack took a deep inhale as he got comfortable in the rough military seat. Comfort wasn't an option. The group of twenty soldiers, male and female joked and chatted amongst themselves as the last of the flight checks were underway.

"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome aboard this cargo plane on a nonstop trip to Scotland!" the pilot vocalized over the comm channel with a strong Scottish accent. Jack chuckled gently to himself. Soldiers cheered and booed at the mention of Scotland. One soldier had a set of bagpipes cradled between his legs, a Union Jack on his desert camouflage jacket's shoulder. The plane had a good atmosphere to it.

"Aye, We be looking at shit flight conditions mixed with shit piloting skills. Seriously this is my fourth Whiskey" The pilot joked with a military sense of humor, the soldier all guffawing with laughter. Arcee peered her headlights at Jack.

"He was joking right?"

"I hope so" Jack smirked nervously.

"So sit tight, relax and kiss your ass goodbye! Cos if this flight doesn't kill ya, the Scottish will!" The Scottish pilot men and women cheered before settling in, resting their heads back and closing their eyes. Jack decided that was a good call, to get some rest.

"Arcee, I'm gonna rest my eyes"

"Go ahead. I might power down for a bit myself" She yawned, her front wheel stretching forwards slightly. Jack chuckled at her. He lent his head back and closed his eyes as he felt the plane turn towards the runway, a heavy muffled rumbling sounding. He bobbed and bounced in the rattling seat. He then felt a nudge. Jack opened his eyes and peered at the soldier sat next to him. He had a Beret on his head and a thick handlebar mustache.

"So that wee bike be a robot huh?" He said in his strong accent. Jack noted that most of these soldiers must have been Scottish, returning home.

"Err, yeah she is"

"That is bloody awesome, I tell ya laddie" He chuckled. Jack smiled at Arcee's motorcycle form strapped down.

"Yeah, she really is"

The Scottish soldier beside him laid his head back, tipping his beret over his eyes slightly and sighing before falling asleep. An almost nine hour flight waited ahead.

The titanic AN-124 roared down the runway and final lifted its set of sixteen wheels off the ground, soaring up into the cloudy heavens above.

...

Blackout clutched his head as he groaned. "Argh...they've...they've just taken off" he shook his head, feeling the biting, gnawing ache behind his optics. Flamewar let an airy chuckle of a whisper pass her jagged lips.

"Now...we wait" She smirked. Tailgate stood by the side of the Gunship, arms crossed and watching his new team stood at the cliff edge. He rubbed his index finger along the raised ridge of his welded throat. A strong sigh escaped his lips and his shoulders sagged with the express of air.

"Can you do it?" A voice came from within his mind.

"Wha? W-who are yo-"

"Kill her? Can you kill her?" The omnipotent voice sounded, interrupting him. Tailgate let a long exhale sound and he closed his optics tight.

"No. She means too much to me. I...I...I still love her" He sighed heavily. He was in deep, working with the wrong people to get to see her.

"Then, when they arrive...you help her. You talk to her. Just remember...she told you she loved you too" The voice faded.

"Wait! W-who are you?" Tailgate asked, with burst wide optics flaring, moments of silence passing before finally the voice spoke.

"The side of you long forgotten...the side that knows what's right...never forget who you were Tailgate...never" the voice finally disappearing with a ghostly stood by the side of the hull, unsure of what to do. He paced quickly, muttering to himself, clutching his head before balling up a tight fist and slamming it against the hull of the Gunship, denting other hunters turned with optic ridges creased.

"You okay kid?" Blackout called.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Just...something on my mind" He shrugged, slumping down against the side of the nodded and turned along with Airachnid. Flamewar paced over to him.

She looked over the sat down bot, hands holding his head.

"Hey. What's wrong?" She asked, bending down. Tailgate sighed as he looked up from his palms.

"I-I don't know if I can kill her" He sighed. Flamewar nodded.

"Understandable" she said, Tailgate raising an eyebrow.

"W-what? Really?"

"Yeah, you were her partner after all. Time is said to be a healer, but honestly...time simply infects the wound, makes it aggravated...inflamed...diseased. We're all plagued with our past Tailgate, time to apply the antidote, the medicine that comes with ending her spark. She did this to us, to me!" Flamewar's voice lost it calm sultry coo and became cold dark and leaned forward to whisper in his processor.

"I have waited eons for this moment...to enact revenge for how she treated me...how she humiliated me...how she made me what I am today" Tailgate gasped in shock and pain as a searing heat sunk into his shoulder blade. Her long feminine finger heated and slid through the sheet of metal like it was soft meat. She twisted and curled her finger inside his shoulder, Tailgate wincing. She smirked and kissed his cheek. A heated sensation flamed at his polymer cheek and as she pulled her lips away a melted branding of lips cooled.

"Now, be a good bot...And help us kill her. Or, I'll have to get the next best thing...that being her old partner. And since Cliffjumper is dead...well, that leaves you" she smirked, blowing him a kiss that he could actually feel the heat off. He panted and gasped as he clutched his shoulder.

"Ooh, might want to get that seen too" she cooed in a husky voice, smirking as she swayed her hips, walking back to Blackout and Airachnid. Tailgate sat up, holding his shoulder and wincing at the touch of his branded cheek. He sighed and rubbed his head.

"Tailgate! Get the weapons from the Gunship! Blackout wants to see our selection" Flamewar ordered. Blackout clapped his palms together, rubbing them, a deep chuckle sounding in his throat.

Tailgate reluctantly nodded. "Y-yes Flamewar...will do"


	9. Chapter 9: Blown from the sky

Jack sat in his seat as he awoke with a tremor to the plane's hull, the room racketing. He gasped and calmed himself. Before him was the camouflage green hulking hull of a Chinook. He couldn't see the soldiers asleep on the other side.

"Not good with turbulence eh lad?" The Beret wearing Scot beside him smiled. Jack nodded, clutching his seat belts tight.

"Well, neither am I after me chopper got blown outta the sky in Helmand. Could a done without that me lad" He chuckled gently, swigging back a metal flask. He looked at Jack, parting his lips form the flask and tilting it towards Jack.

"No thanks, not a big drinker" Jack chuckled.

"Of water?" The man raised an eyebrow beneath the beret. Jack scoffed and took the flask, swigging it. He suddenly felt a burn in his throat and sprayed the content through pursed lips over the tied down Chinook before him. The Beret wearing Scotsman laughed, slapping his knee.

"Oh laddie, you be a wee little man, but damn you can make an old sod laugh!"

"T-thanks? Names Jack by the way, Jack Darby" Jack offered his hand. The giant mustached man smiled, offering his huge hairy hand, tightly wrapping it round Jacks.

"Cailean" He smiled. Jack nodded, but not fully understanding. The man clocked on, nodding. "It's Gaelic, for Colin" He shrugged, releasing his grip on Jack, twisting the cap on his flask.

"Nice to meet you...Colin. Oh, and that..." He pointed to Arcee, the motorcycle sound asleep, strapped down tight. "Is Arcee"

"Aye, she be fierce lad. Saw her fightin, tough as nails during all that madness few months back" He said, rubbing his stubbly square chin.

"Yeah, she was"

"All those...Decepticons, whatever they were..."

"Yeah..." Jack implored.

"They pissed off a Scotsman. I don't care where they come from or how big the lad is. I'll clock his jaw" He chuckled. Jack laughed with him, another jolt of turbulence shivering through the plane.

"How long did I sleep for?" Jack asked. Colin shrugged.

"Not sure. Round eight hours son"

"Great. Most the flight under my belt" Jack sighed with relief.

"Aye. We can't be far now" Colin huffed. Jack nodded, slouching back in his seat.

...

The huge plane roared over the ocean when suddenly the sea of lapping, frothing salt water turned to jagged cliffs and green turfs of stretching fields. The turbines beneath the wings whirred as the cold snapping air of Scotland's morning sucked through its heated jet stream. The titanic plane tilted slightly, banking to the left.

After around forty five minutes, beneath them the land began to turn to rising and falling sharp mountains of rock. Fog and clouds tumbled and slowly cascaded along their sunken faces. The plane seeped under the low clouds and appeared through the grey haze on the other side, a mass grave of cold, dead winter trees and huge skeletal, Gothic mountains under them. The grey and silver rocks were dusted with white from the flurry of freezing snow.

"Ladies and Gents, we are now over Scotland's highlands. Take in the beauty of our homeland. Well, you could if we had windows in the bay!" The pilot chuckled over the announcing communicator. Jack rolled his eyes with a scoff and Arcee awoke with a yawn, her tires screeching as she stretched her motorcycle form.

"Ergh...we there yet?" She growled.

"Almost Cee. Almost. Getting restless?" Jack asked her.

"What gave it away? I hate being strapped down" she hissed once more, her bipedal wheeled form shuffling uncomfortably.

Meanwhile outside of the plane on the tip of one of the Mountains, a huge titanic figure watched the massive Plane roar over the mountains, heading towards him. Blackout scoffed a laugh as he rolled his shoulders and pressed his huge finger to the side of his temple.

"Hey, might wanna come in there An-124 unit" Blackout smirked.

"Hello? Who is this? We're not far from _Oldshore More_ Airfield, do we have clearance to land, over?" The pilot's responded to the hail. Blackout nodded with a villainous grin.

"Oh yeah, if you can make it...you see we have an issue" He cackled. The huge white and blue plane was now roaring overhead near the Hunter.

"And what's that?" The pilot spat. Blackout raised his wrist, aiming his cannon at the left wing. The plane was almost on top of him by now.

"YOU'RE IN A NO FLY-ZONE!" He roared with a demonic chuckle, firing an Energon blast straight through one of the left turbines, closest to the hull. It exploded in a massive fireball and splintering debris vomited out from the wing as smoke plumed and foamed. The left wing buckled and snapped clean off, the out of control plane now wailing with a metallic scream as if fell over Blackout's head, heading straight for the highlands. Blackout let a sinister smirk graze his face.

Jack clutched onto his seat harness as tight as he could, his heart thumping through his chest. On the left side of the plane, along with him was a splintered tear in the metal hull, air being sucked clean from the plane. Arcee's straps snapped and ripped. She quickly transformed and coiled the straps around her palms, holding onto the ropes to stop her being spat from the maw of the hull breach.

"JACK!" She screamed out, his terrified eyes locking with hers. "Keep your eyes on me!"

"Please!" She pleaded as screaming soldiers lost hold of their seats and were thrown from the plane and through the jagged mouth of the hull breach. Spines snapped with a chilling crack as they hit the hull, bodies spinning wildly through the air and clouds. Screams fell dead silent and the Chinook inside the hull snapped and crumpled as it rolled, slamming against the right side of the hull, squishing seated soldiers. The rotors coiled and splintered, sharp metal spraying out through the hull.

Arcee managed to place a foot on the now diagonal left side of the hull, right by the hull breach tear in its skin. The An-124 was now a flaming ball of metal and smoke, challenging the size of a Jumbo Jet. The tilting and falling plane scraped its torn underbelly over the sharp mountain peaks and five of its sixteen wheels exploded into the air on impacting the mountain.

"Jack!" She screamed as the Chinook began to give in to the shifting gravity in the falling, spinning plane. The straps securing it snapped and tethered as the Chinook began to groan and slide down the diagonal floor, towards Jack and Colin. Jack squinted, wincing for impact. Colin simply huffed and closed his eyes. Suddenly the huge helicopter stopped its sliding fall. The rear of the helicopter slammed against the plane wall down the aisle, not far from Colin.

Jack peered over as Arcee's flexibility allowed her to have both feet pressed against the wall and floor of the plane, hull breach roaring behind her. Her left palm was wrapped in the straps connected to the floor of the plane, now acting as a wall in the tumbling plane. Her right was using all its might to hold up the Chinook hull from her Sparkmate below.

"Jack! This is...really heavy" She groaned, teeth gritted. Jack tried to undo his straps but they were locked tight, pinned by jagged metal. Suddenly Colin graced a huge bowie knife under the straps and cut them in a sweep. Jack was free. Colin rolled over to the opposite seat and Jack did the same, landing in Colin's seat as Arcee was now free to release the Chinook.

The AN-124 was dropping rapidly, engulfed in flames. After doing a full out of control one winged rotation, a swirl of black smoke behind in its descending wake, the Chinook being transported inside slid to the other side of the plane, allowing Arcee time to roll herself over away from the hull breach and into the plane again. She quickly did a seat belt over Jack's waist and buckled him in tight, turning and standing in front of him as the Chinook began to slide again, it's snapped straps wrapped around its dented, blood splattered hull like a fabric boa constrictor.

She felt the Chinook slam into her raised palms and it hit her with such force her wings pierced the plane hull above Jack's head. She was basically sat in Jack's lap as she groaned, trying to keep the Chinook away from Jack and Colin. Arcee groaned as she tensed her arms and locked her elbows, keeping the huge helicopter from him. What was once a helicopter being transported to a new home was now a rolling boulder of metal, threatening to squash Jack like it did to the soldiers on the other side of the hull.

She growled in pain and agony as the plane rolled again, the weight of the helicopter denting the metal and swallowing around her palms. Her elbows groaned and buckled, the wings on her back stabbing through the hull wall above Jack's head.

The huge white and blue plane, now stained black cleared the final mountain, heading for a huge flat of grass and snow, huge winter stained evergreens at the edge of a lapping forest standing tall and still.

The wailing of the falling plane threatened the soft silence and screeched through the abundance of nature's calming allure. The right wing was warped and damaged, one turbine engulfed in lapping flames and choking smoke. The rear of the plane buckled and wobbled.

Inside the cockpit, the Pilots tugged back on the throttle best they could, trying to raise the out of control plane, inbound to hell. They both closed their tearful eyes and tried to calm their thumping hearts as the plane finally slammed through the small treetops, crushing and snapping the bark covered bones of the tree stumps and flattening the vibrant green torsos.

The remaining wheels screeched and erupted as the plane squashed them on impact. The nose slammed down hard, severing completely and rolling along the ground, free of the hull. The huge hulking torso of the plane continued to slide along the ground as the tail turned diagonal and snapped like an old frigid spine. Earth and grass ripped up like rotten flesh around the hull.

The last remaining wing popped and cracked under the pressure, snapping off completely and the turbines erupting in balls of heated fire, cascading down the side of the grassy forest.

Arcee felt the impact hard and the Chinook along with her were thrown from the plane hull. She slid along it's torso as she managed to just grab the strap connected to the floor, coiling it round her hand and holding tight. The Chinook fell from the hull and began tumbling out of control in a massive fireball of exploding debris. Arcee felt her legs dangling and she peered out to see they hadn't in fact crashed in a field, but slid along one to come to a stop at the edge of a tremendous cliff top. She clutched on tighter to the hull and raised her legs up to her chest.

"Whoa! Gah, l-long way down" She wrapped both arms around the strap and looked up to see Jack in his seat, Colin next to him. Minor cuts and bruises stained they skin, but they were alive. She sighed relief as she had protected him. She relaxed her shoulders and attempted to climb back up inside the plane hull. As she placed one palm on the floor of the hull and began to pull up, she peered towards the back aft of the plane at the end of the now severed hull.

Outside in the wobbly haze of smoke and fire she saw a huge titanic being she recognized. She couldn't make out the definitive identity but what shocked her more was that his huge two toed foot raised and pressed against the rear aft of the cylindrical tube of metal, once a plane hull, now devoid of nose, wings and tail. She fell the plane groan and begin to tilt. She gasped as it began to slowly tilt off the edge of the cliff. She heard Jack scream, and the plane finally fell thanks to the monster's push.

To stop herself being crushed, Arcee released her hold of the strap and fell to the steep, rocky slope of the mountainside. As she slid down its snowy rocky hide, she rolled over and watched as the massive hull slammed down and began sliding down the side of the mountain as well, as if chasing her, a wake of snowy froth rising in pluming clouds around the cylindrical hull.

She gasped in horror as the wing fell as well, turbines rolling and tumbling by the falling plane hull towards her. As she slid on her back, she took aim with her blasters at the incoming debris. As Arcee slid down the rock face, she blasted Energon bursts, blowing the turbines apart and tumbling in fireballs past her. She quickly rolled over to avoid another huge chunk of cascading debris. The huge hull was gaining on her as it slid down the rocky face of the mountain as well. She peered in, trying to see Jack. She couldn't make him out through the spit up of snow and rock.

The plane hull cracked against a large rock and twisted, tumbling and now rolling sideways along its cylindrical walls. She quickly rolled aside once more as the huge hull remains containing her Sparkmate rolled by her, slamming through another forest and finally coming to a stop in the middle of a huge snowy field.

She huffed, catching her breath as she peered up, trying to see the assailant. He was no longer there. She shook her head and got up to her staggering feet, stumbling down what was left of the mountain and jogging towards the forest. But a crack to the back of her metal temple she had sustained earlier had dented her head and rattled her brain. Her optics grew fuzzy and finally she took one last inhale of cold air and dropped to her knees, falling unconscious in the snow.


	10. Chapter 10: Predators and Prey

A shivering howl of wind whipped through the silent hull of the plane carcass, nestled at the end of a trail of flattened trees. Deep muffling silence echoed and only the occasional crackle of small flames licked at the quiet.

Eyes flickered within the closed lids and Jack slowly woke up after half an hour of being unconscious. A deep gasping inhale of cold air filled his lungs and a sharp pain tugged at his shoulder. His blurry vision turned sharp and crisp and he surveyed the sight before him.

With the straps of his seat pinning him tight to his chair, he was unable to move from the spot and forced to look around the desolate wreckage, the closest end of the hull where the nose used to be revealed crushed trees, white snow and the crumpled remains of a Chinook. Smoke and fire plumed upwards from the wreck and a howl of cold wind hummed through the hull.

Jack looked over at his shoulder, seeing the source of the pain. A shard of metal had pierced his muscle, blood staining his grey shirt shoulder. As soon as he noticed it, the pain intensified.

"Argh...Fu...f-f...ahh...oh god" He mumbled in ragged breaths to himself as he raised his hand to run over his shoulder. His nerve ends felt like they'd been dipped in molten metal at the touch and the metal splinter was deeply imbedded. Jack groaned and hissed air through gritted teeth.

"Shi...whew okay...okay...erm" Jack looked around the plane hull with the excruciating pain hitting him with thumps.

"Err...M-mom says never remove it or you'll bleed out" He said to himself. It was at that moment he noticed Colin was nowhere to be seen, not a single soldier. It was also when he saw that how the plane had rolled to a stop, he was staring at the opposite wall as a floor. His legs were dangling from the seat and because of this position; the blood in his body had rushed to his upper extremities.

"Whew oh...okay...long drop down" He huffed nervously. He grasped the metal clasp of the seat belt and took a deep inhale, wincing and gritting his teeth, tensing his body as he unclipped the clasp. Suddenly the straps released him and he fell from his diagonal seat, plummeting down to the opposite wall.

He rolled over in the air and landed on his back with a pain filled thump. He gasped and gagged, groaning loudly as he winded himself badly. He writhed in pain and cried out in agony as the metal shard in his shoulder was forced deeper. His legs kicked and flayed as he fought the intense pain he was experiencing.

Finally the sensation past enough so that Jack could get up to his feet and stagger free of the plane hull. He stepped off the warped metal and into the crunchy soft snow. A freezing cold chill licked at his skin and he hugged his torso for warmth. A cloud of condensation emitted from his lips with every warm air exhale.

He peered around at the frozen forest and long flat of green and white before him. Parts of the plane carcass littered the field. It was then that his eyes fixed on a figure lying in the snow. He jogged over to the man.

"C-Colin" He struggled to emit. The man groaned, face down in the snow. Jack dropped to his knees beside him, more with exhaustion than anything else.

"Come on, wake up. Colin" Jack shook the man's body, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. Suddenly, the man moaned as he rolled over in the snow, eyes flickering.

"Heh. Th-that's the second time, I've been shot from the sky" He weakly chuckled.

"Me too, well it was a bomb the first time" Jack scoffed. Colin cocked an eyebrow but didn't have time to investigate as Jack tried to haul the man up. Jack cried out in pain and clutched his shoulder. Colin managed to haul his body up by himself.

"You okay lad?"

"N-no. Metal...in my...Sh-shoulder" He winced.

"There's nothing I can do here, we need to get moving" Colin explained as he picked up a rifle from the snow, checking the chamber for a round. The golden shell glistened.

"One mag, one already in the pipe" Colin mumbled.

Jack peered around at the crash site. "Where's Cee?"

...

A thin layer of snow had settled on her cold metal skin. Arcee's optics flickered open and she raised her head from the snow with a weak groan. The dent on the back of her head was still throbbing and her vision was flickering every so often.

"Repairs...underway. Wait...J-Jack" She moaned as she pushed up and off the floor, rising to her staggering footsteps. She shook her head, agony filling her temple. She clutched her head and calmed herself.

"Okay. Jack" she focused on what to search for next. With that she began to jog to the hull of the plane at the bottom of the mountain base. She ran through the wake of the hull's rolling crash, crushed, flattened trees beneath her feet.

She stepped around the side of the hull and across the snowy flat when she saw him and Colin stood together. She sighed with relief. Jack was safe, along with a soldier.

"Cee!" Jack smiled. She walked over, crouching in the snow before him.

"Aye, all together again" Colin chuckled. Arcee peered at him.

"Only survivor?" She asked him. He simply nodded weakly.

"I'm sorry" She sighed. Colin nodded once more and turned towards the opposite forest, away from the crash site. Arcee's gaze fixed back on Jack.

"Are you alright?" She gasped as she saw his shoulder. "Primus Jack! Oh that looks bad"

"It'll be fine for now"

"Aye, I had training in combat medicine. I can removed it, but not until I get some supplies to work with" Colin called.

"Where's that?"

"Lass, the back of the plane, It landed somewhere over there" Colin pointed off to the other forest.

"Okay. Let's go"

"Guy's really I'm fine"

"No you're not, Jack that is a bad wound!" Arcee firmly stated.

"Aye laddie, she be right. That'll get infected if I can't take it out and dress the wound" Colin called out as he surveyed the area with his rifle.

"No arguments, we head that way. We still need to find this Relic, but not if it costs your life" Arcee said with finality.

"Okay. L-let's go" Jack winced. Arcee nodded when a sound caught her ear. She peered up at the top of the mountain where the plane had fallen. Stood on the top were four figures. One was huge; two were her size, another Cliffjumper's. Suddenly they leaped, sliding and jogging down the side of the mountain. Arcee's optics doubled in size and her trembling jaw dropped.

"We need to go. Now!" She cried out, transforming allowing Jack on.

"What? Wh-"

"JUST DO IT! PLEASE!" She begged. Jack complied getting on the motorcycle. Colin got on too as she sped off with a wheel spin, snow flicking up. Jack peered back as Blackout slammed through the trees and pointed his huge wrist at them. Luckily they went into the trees, out of his range.

"Blackout?! H-how?!" Jack cried out.

"I don't know! We need to keep going, because he is _not_ alone!" She trembled, speeding through the snowy forest. Colin simply held on with one hand, the other holding his scavenged rifle.

"I'm guessing I'll be regretting this trip, heh lad?" Colin sighed.

"Yeah...probably" Jack nodded.

...

Blackout aimed his cannon but lost his target in the thick brush. With a growl he lowered his wrist

"Drat! Lost her"

"For now my sweet, for now" Airachnid cooed. "I've set up a Jammer on top of the mountain. She's truly alone now"

"No...The boy's with her" Blackout groaned as he stood up from his crouched pose.

"Oh, my dear Jack, oh this is delicious" She plucked her finger against her sharp chin, a smirk grinning evilly. Blackout crossed his arms, kicking a plane turbine into the distance like a football.

Flamewar stood on top of the plane hull, her heated feet warping the metal under foot.

"Oh I've waited...so long for this moment. Spread out! Find her!" She roared. Blackout nodded, somersaulting into the air as a huge Pave Low. The trees left standing fluttered and rippled under the downdrafts of his spinning rotors.

Airachnid flicked onto her eight slender legs and headed onwards into the forest, like a gigantic spider.

Tailgate pumped his Energon rifle and jogged on to the distant forest on the right, possibly to cut her off on his own. Flamewar stood tall and clenched her fists, smirking evilly over the distance.

"Run Arcee, run. You only prolong the inevitable"


	11. Chapter 11: Break up of old Partners

Arcee slid to a halt by the crumpled aft of the plane, it's white and blue tipped tail bent and warped. Trees surrounded the segment and snow settled upon the top of the cold metal tail, a tell-tale sign of how long the plane had been wrecked.

Boxes and crates littered the ground and cold unused bullets lay in the snow. Paper and plastic coatings flicked and snapped in the cold wind like flags.

Jack dismounted, but not before Colin leaped off, aiming as he walked to the plane segment. He slid over a large crate, thrown from the crash. With his iron sights raised to his right eye, he aimed the long barrel into the crumpled hull. The back of the plane was torn clean from the hull during the crash; no one could have survived such an event. Colin groaned as he saw blood splattered up the hulls curved wall. He closed his eyes tight and looked away from the mangled corpse. He shook his head and punched the hull once, extremely hard, a bang echoing. But he had to continue. Colin reached over to the opposite wall, grabbing a box and slowly dragging it from the hull.

Jack stood outside with a thumping heart as Arcee transformed. She immediately raised her blasters as the sound of heavy rotors clapping echoed across the silent forest, reverberating off the mountain walls. She heard a twig snap, or a tree depending on the villain's size. She raised her blasters and stifled her thumping spark. A figure moved in the forest and shuffled behind tall pillars of wood.

"Jack. You stay put. Keep near the hull and Colin"

"What?! Where are you going? Cee!"

"I said stay put! Do as say, understand?" She snarled. Jack reluctantly nodded. She had to firm, otherwise he wouldn't listen, Jack was stubborn that way.

"Fine" he growled.

"Aye, I got the med kit" Colin called from the plane as he dragged the crate out in the clotted snow.

"I can dress your wound now lad, come here" He called, setting his rifle down and opening the crate with two firm clicks. As he swung the lid over, he saw the amount of Gauss dressings, plasters and bottles of antiseptic.

"Aye, goldmine here, whoo hoo!" Colin chuckled. Jack sat on the crate beside as he dabbed his finger at the wound, the metal dug deep.

"I can get it out lad, but it'll hurt" Colin didn't lie to him. Jack reluctantly nodded. Arcee was already heading to the tree line. Jack gritted his teeth and winced as Colin injected a needle into his shoulder muscle with a small dose of Anesthesia.

Meanwhile, Arcee stepped over fallen trees and around tall tree trunks. The darkness the treetops clouded below made it hard to see, and the tall trees obscured her vision.

Every stepped crunched with snow and twigs. Shadows danced and ran between trees as the wind shook the treetops above. Her eyes narrowed and she kept her blasters ready.

"Cee" She heard a raspy voice say. She immediately spun and raised her blasters. The sight before her sent shivers down her mechanical spine. Stepping out of the shadows before her was a figure she never thought to see again. With a welded throat, the white and metallic blue flamed figure of Tailgate emerged. She lowered her blasters, eyes wide and jaw trembling.

"T-T-Tailgate? Wha-ho-how?" She asked. He smiled and lowered his rifle to a one handed grip.

"I can't believe it. Finally...I can see you again" he brushed his other hand against her cheek. Her eyes closed and a smile graced her face. Suddenly she snapped back, stepping away, raising a blaster.

"It's a trick! A cruel, evil trick!" she cried out, blaster trembling.

"No. Not a trick. It's really me" Tailgate shrugged.

"How, I saw Airachnid kill you!" Arcee bellowed, her shaking blaster becoming stiff again.

"Well, news of my death was greatly exaggerated" Tailgate snarled, pointing to his throat. "Got saved...by Flamewar" Tailgate told her. Arcee's eyes widened to the point of them almost falling from their sockets. Her lips trembled and she shook her head.

"No, no, no, no...Please, no not her!" She screamed. Her eyes looked straight at Tailgate. "Wait...that...that means...you're with her aren't you?"

"What? Cee, I came to find you, to talk to you"

"You're with them aren't you? Why! Why are you helping her?!" She shouted.

"I'm not helping her! She saved me...I'm returning the favor. Besides, I didn't see Cliffjumper or Bumblebee helping me" He hissed.

"We saw Airachnid slit your throat"

"And you did a fantastic job checking to see if I was alive didn't you?!" Tailgate roared, making Arcee flinch. He saw her reaction towards him and looked betrayed, shocked.

"Cee...come on it's me...Cee-"

"DON'T! Don't call me that" She screamed at him. He stood unmoved.

"S-so you're with Flamewar now? The one person whose out to kill me more than Airachnid?" Arcee squinted. Tailgate sighed, running his free hand over his head.

"Look. She knew where to find you. She's helped me keep an eye on you!"

"That's not your call!" She shouted.

"But...Cee...y-you remember what you said to me...before she slit my throat?" Tailgate pleaded. "You said you loved me" He went to touch her cheek again but she pulled away, snarling a lip.

"I didn't mean it" she sighed.

"Wha..." Tailgate's eyes became watery. "Cee"

"I panicked. I thought she was going to kill you! I...I didn't want you dying unloved"

"So, you lied? Told me what I wanted to hear?" Tailgate huffed. His life was being turned upside down in an instant. She reluctantly nodded.

"You didn't love me? You...all this time...I've been blaming Cliffjumper from taking you from me...but...all along...you...it was you..." Tailgate was mumbling to himself. She backed away slowly, when she stepped on a twig snapping it loudly. He raised his rifle towards her, twitching glassy eyes staring at her.

"And that means that...you never cared for me. Cliffjumper didn't fill my place...I never had a place!" He tightened his trigger finger and the muzzle flashed bright blue. She dived behind a tree as it exploded with splinters of wood behind her.

"Get out here, Arcee! You can't just tear out my spark and expect to get away with it! A broken mind, a broken heart!" She broke from cover, sprinting back to the plane. Tailgate closed his left eye and aimed along the Energon rifle cross-hairs.

"...A broken man" He snarled, firing a blast that ripped through the air and tore along her back, blowing her over and across the ground. She fell and skidded along the dirt. A smirk grazed along his face and he hopped over a tree carcass.

"Tailgate! Have you found her yet?" Blackout's voice hissed in his ear. Tailgate stared down at her on the floor, Energon seeping from her shoulder.

"Yeah...she's here. Head to the right hand forest, by the back half of the plane" Tailgate chuckled.

"You should have made sure I was dead Arcee" He whispered, placing the barrel of his gun on the back of her head. Her eyes popped wide and she extended her wrist blade.

"You replaced me...I could forgive that...I could blame someone else...But this, it's something you ain't gonna get out of. You should have returned my love, my compassion"

"Yeah...and you shouldn't have been such a jealous waste of Energon!" She roared, spinning around and slamming her wrist blade along Tailgate's jaw. He roared in pain as he fell back onto the ground. A transformation sounded and by the time he peered up again, a motorcycle was racing off to the tree line. With a long gash seeping Energon along his face, he gritted teeth and roared: "ARCEE!"

Jack groaned as Colin wrapped his shoulder in bandage wraps.

"There lad, should hold for a while." They both looked up as Arcee ran through the tree line, her left shoulder heavy and weak.

"Cee! You're hurt!" Jack cried out as he stood from the crates.

"We need to move. Now" She heavily panted.

"Err...where too?" Jack ventured.

"Back to the plane hull. We can camp in there overnight. They won't expect us to return"

"She's right lad. We pulled the old swing round on a camp in Afghanistan years back. No one died" Colin nodded, pulling the cocking lever back on his rifle.

"Okay, if you think it's right" Jack shrugged.

"Either that or you freeze to death, do I make myself clear?!" Arcee snarled at him. Jack backed away slightly. She managed to calm her hard outer shell. She realized she was pushing him away again.

"Jack...I'm sorry-"

"Behind you" He trembled. Colin raised his rifle and Arcee peered over her shoulder as Tailgate stepped over a fallen tree.

"You sneaky little Glitch!" Tailgate chuckled evilly as he stepped over the log, pointing at Arcee. "Oh you and your blades, always a last resort with you"

Arcee stepped in front of Jack and Colin.

"Oh...this must be the human Blackout mentioned" Tailgate smirked as he bent down to look at Jack. Jack backed away further. The gash along Tailgate's face had sealed and the Energon had ceased its leaking.

"So this is your new partner? Take it Cliff didn't survive the Cons then"

"How did you..." Arcee raised an eyebrow.

"Oh wake up Arcee! Who do you think told the cons where the Energon deposit he found was, who do you think blocked Cliffjumper's signal so you couldn't help him?" Arcee's eyes widened.

"You..."

"Bingo" He smirked. "Well, I can't take all the credit. Flamewar was quite a good sport when it came to stuff like that"

"Jack run" Arcee whispered, eyes never leaving Tailgate's. As soon as she moved he raised an Energon Revolver, chrome and with a cylinder of six golden Energon shells. The barrel aimed at her head.

"Ah-ah-ah. Don't go anywhere Cee" He shook his finger.

"What happened to you?" she pleaded.

"I realized that the world, the universe is cruel, unbiased. And it kicks a guy when he's down. I came back to find you. When I saw you and Cliff, I immediately blamed him, said "My Arcee wouldn't hurt me like that" Well, I was wrong wasn't I. I was clouded by my feelings, feelings I thought you returned"

"Tailgate, stop-"

"You said you loved me!" He snarled. "Well, we all make mistakes don't we? Mine? Was believing that there was an ounce of good in you. Flamewar was right...all along. But your mistake?" He clicked down the hammer of the huge revolver. "Not making sure I was dead"

Suddenly the flare launchers on the rear of the plane expelled bright balls of light, blinding Tailgate. He groaned in pain and he shielded his eyes. Arcee transformed and Jack jumped on, along with Colin. They sped off into the forest towards the plane hull from earlier. By the time Tailgate's vision had returned, she was gone, and because of the lack of snow on the crash skid, he didn't know which way.

"Grrr...Son of a glitch!" he hissed.


	12. Chapter 12: Memories

After several long grueling hours of avoiding the Hunters, Night time fell over the highlands. Blackout landed on top of a mountain, his rotors folding up on his back. He perched and glared out over the dark forests below.

"Airach, you got anything?" He asked on his comm.

"No...She's elusive. Keep moving up. No way would they go back to the wreck. They still think there's a relic to collect" She chuckled with her husky tone. Blackout nodded, transforming and flying off over the highlands.

Miles back, at the plane hull was indeed where they were. Arcee peered outside at the dark sky, a huge full moon of lunar white looming overhead like a dab of chalk on a blackboard of stars. She sighed heavily and dragged a large portion of wing they scavenged across the front of the hull, blocking out the amber glow of their crackling fire inside. The wing acted as a door perfectly. Jack shivered and his teeth chattered. Even inside the hull, the cold night air gnawed at his skin.

Arcee sat down beside him and lowered her hands to his shoulders, rubbing them creating warmth. Jack sighed with relief.

"T-T-T-Thanks C-C-Cee" He stuttered in the cold. She smiled warmly as the amber flickering of light from the small fire illuminated her face. She peered up at the other side of the fire. Colin was sat with a stick held out over the flames, a crispy charred rat on the end. He twisted the stick and cooked it thoroughly.

"You eat that?" She chuckled gently. Colin scoffed and peered up at her.

"Foods food. All gotta eat" He smiled, pulling the stick back from the licking flames and embers of rising lights. "Looks done"

"How can you tell?" She grimaced. Colin snapped off a leg like it was a twig. He nibbled the cooked flesh. Arcee groaned and winced.

"Taste is a luxury me lad. Here, waffa thin rat" Colin chuckled as he leaned over to Jack. Jack smiled as he removed a leg, regretting it as he looked it over.

"Gee...thanks" Jack faked. Arcee continued to rub his shoulder gently as he lent into her side. The only sound to be heard was the fire crackling and Colin munching.

He licked his fingers and threw the stick and remainder of the carcass on the fire. Jack nodded as he licked his fingers clean.

"Good catch Colin. Not too bad" Jack congratulated. Colin shrugged.

"Wasn't all me pal. Thank old M4 Carbine over here. She be a sexy gal!" He chuckled as he stroked the rifle. Arcee shook her head as Jack settled against her, feeling her warmth. She kept gently rubbing his shoulder with her arm over him. Colin watched the pair. He tiled his Beret back.

"So...you two..." He swirled his hands for more information.

"Partners...Romantic...partners" Arcee rubbed the back of her neck. "It's complicated"

"Aye, not at all lass. We've all got someone out there for us" Colin smiled. Arcee warmly replied with a smile back.

"Well, apparently that other bot had a thing for you" Jack shrugged. Arcee's hand left his shoulder and she pushed away, looking at him angrily.

"What?"

"So...you told Tailgate you loved him?"

"Why does that matter?" She hissed.

"A damn lot Arcee! You forgot to mention that when you told me about what Airachnid did to your partner" Jack explored. Colin rolled his eyes and sat back.

"That had nothing to do with you back then!" She snarled.

"So this is how it's going to be, you never told me you loved someone before me" Jack sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I never did!" She shouted, Jack raising an eyebrow. Her angered bright optics dulled. "I...I told him I did because he said it...and I panicked. I didn't want him to die. Part of me wanted to say it so he wouldn't die unloved, another to see if maybe Airachnid would spare him...but none of it was that I actually loved him. Once we were friends...now we're enemies" She sighed, lowering her head. Jack dropped his defense, gently caressing her knee.

"I'm sorry Cee...sorry"

"It's all my fault. I told him that...so that he'd die happy, I didn't realize he'd survive. Gah this is such a mess!" she slammed her palms against her scalp. "It's horrible I know, But I didn't know what else to do! I panicked. And now this...horrible Flamewar is after me...and working with him"

"Don't worry. We'll stop em, get out of this mess...like always" Jack smiled proudly. Arcee rolled her optics with a smirk.

"You really think that? Maybe...Maybe my luck's finally run dry" she sighed.

"No...We'll get out of it. Tailgate's still got good in him. We just need him to realize it" Jack nodded.

"Thanks" Arcee smiled as she rested her forehead against his. Colin smiled at the pair.

"We'll get out of this, and ya can all go home" Colin nodded. Jack peered at him as he settled against Arcee again.

"You got anybody waiting for you back home?" Jack asked over the crackling fire. Colin's face was slightly distorted by the wobbling flames, but he definitely frowned as he lowered his head.

"Her name was Amber. She was a gorgeous wee lass. Body built like...well yours" Colin chuckled as he pointed to Arcee.

"Curves at every point and eyes that...well, you need a map to get out laddie!" He chuckled, Jack smiling. Colin's smile dropped as he continued the story.

"We met...under the Blues and Royals, our regiment in Helmand. We were close...got closer...war tends to...put things in perspective" Colin shrugged as he jabbed a stick at the flames. "She was a tough gal, I tell ya. One day, we got assigned to do a patrol near a small village. There was around twenty of us, all big men, then this wee lass...Amber. She looked harmless. But I'd seen her in combat, made some of those big lads look like little pant wetters!" Colin chuckled as the memories flooded his mind. Jack and Arcee smiled as they listened.

"We were walking through a small set of stalls, chatting with locals, nice enough folk. She goes up to a stall, and buys this..." He reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. On the silver chain at the end was a small dragon made of silver, its tail wrapped round its torso. In the middle was a circle amber stone, light orange in color.

"She thought it was cute. I told her that it reminded me of her. She went on and on about how I'd called her a dragon" He stifled his laughter, eyes distant in the past. "I told her that it wasn't the dragon that reminded me of her, it was the stone...Amber" He chuckled.

"Gave her a wee kiss and then a stronger one, bloody regiment whooping and cheering like nosy little bastards" He shook his head with a smile. "I put the necklace over her head, and told her there and then that I loved her. I must have jinxed it something awful, cos a barrage of bloody gunfire came down from the balconies. People screamed and ran, we stayed and took cover. The fight was long, ammo exhausting and hell, downright piss poor. One of me lads got hit in the arm, so we called in a chopper for evac. Not half an hour later we were loaded onto the bird in a nearby field, gunfire flying which way and right" He swung his arms to simulate the bullets.

"So anyway, I'm sat with Amber, checking her over for bullet wounds. She's shaken up, but alive. Just as we lift off and head home, this missile decides to ruin our celebration, blowing the tail off me bird. We spin wildly before crashing down in the field again" His smile had vanished somewhere in the story telling.

"We lost a couple of good lads in that crash. Fred, Rick, Michael. All good lads with families back home. We made it to a nearby structure. Blasted thing was made of bloody dry mud and sticks. Bullets ripped through it, I tell ya we might as well have stayed out in the pissin open" He scoffed. "Amber and I were on the top of the building, laying covering fire. We got our guys out the back and were beginning to fall back from these Taliban fuckers..." His eyes reflected in the flames as tears weld.

"It was just me and her. We cleared the field from the building top. She gave me one hell of a gorgeous smile and went to stand up. She said, "Race you down there" She was a big kid at heart. She never let anything get her down. I mean, there we were getting fired at, and she was cracking jokes! I loved that about her, hell we all did"

"She got up...and a loud bang echoed. I never saw someone fall so lifeless before in all me life. I caught her and that...that..." He struggled to speak over the tears. "Whew...that smile of hers was gone...Those beautiful eyes were dead...empty. Whatever it was that made her, her...it was gone. I was pretty much broken after that. We got back to base, had the memorial...and I resigned" He shrugged, wiping his eyes. Arcee stared at him with emotional eyes, Jack as well.

"I guess...what I'm trying to tell ya is...It doesn't matter how different you are...So what if you're not from the same fuckin planet. If you love each other...Like I loved her, then hang onto it. Don't let it slip away. Mine was taken from me. Doesn't have to happen to you two" He nodded, tucking his necklace back in.

"I'm so sorry" Arcee huffed, Jack nodding.

"A few years back, I joined a group called M.E.C.H" Colin shrugged. Arcee and Jack widened eyes. "As soon as I found out what they were truly about, I left. Not working for a group of sick bastards like that" He tended to the fire again.

"Then...I joined Fowler's team here...and well, here we are"

"Thanks for everything Colin" Jack smiled. Colin nodded.

"Don't mention it lad. It's what Amber would have done" He smiled as he leaned back against the wall of the plane hull.

Arcee's temperature warning began to beep, the Autobot logo on her wing flashing blue.

"What's that?" Jack asked. She quickly turned it off.

"Nothing important, come on. Cozy up, keep warm" She smiled, huddling him against her torso.

"So...how'd a kid like you meet a bot like her?" Colin chuckled as he placed his hands behind his head. Arcee smiled as Jack sat up.

"Well...I worked at K.O burger in Jasper. I finished work, came out and saw this bike...it was beautiful..."

...

Flamewar walked along the snowy night time ground. The path before her was flat and white, glistening like glitter. The cloudless sky above shone stars down on her and lunar light as the moon slowly rotated above. She sighed heavily and closed her fiery optics.

_"My lord, she is responding well to our experimentation. The body has been successfully transferred to full Cybertronian state" Shockwave stated. My eyes flickered open on the table I was bolted to. I peered up and saw that one eyed doctor. He gazed down at me emotionless, Megatron beside him. _

_"Excellent news, this will revolutionize weaponry if successful"_

_"Indeed Megatron. Her Energon levels are stable; I can begin to transfer the fire element" _

_"Shockwave...begin the transfer" Megatron snarled. I tried to break free, God I did! He put a cable deep in my chest, my new chest...why...why so metal? So...Argh...the pain!_

_"The fire element is being deposited into her Energon stream"_

_I screamed so loud, my hands shaking under the shackles. Fire burning, scolding my very blood, my...Energon? Gah! Pain like no other! Help me! Please help me! Ahhhh!_

Flamewar gasped back into the reality of the highlands, the Present. She stumbled and fell back in the snow, the cold snow melting at her hot touch. She rubbed her head and sat up, crouching.

She took a crunchy handful of white snow. She smiled and giggled at it's odd touch, the sensation of...cold? But her joy soon vanished as the heat of her palms melted the snow to water extremely quickly. Rage overcame her. She clenched her fists tight and tightened her extremities.

"RRRRAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" She bellowed as her limbs exploded outwards and a wave of fire erupted out in a ripple, melting a circle perimeter of snow around her. She calmed and looked at the scorched circle of charred ground she was stood in, smoke and steam rising. Water from the still melting snow trickled around her boots and boiled.

"Where were you? Where were you when I needed you! You will pay...Arcee" She snarled.


	13. Chapter 13: Outgunned and outnumbered

Colin peered up from the flames as Arcee sat opposite him, just the fire between them.

"Jack's sleeping, finally. His body temperature was low. How come you don't seem affected?" Arcee spoke. Colin shrugged.

"Born in Scotland, raised in Scotland...you get used to it" He chuckled.

"I'm sorry you got roped into all of this" Arcee sighed. He smiled.

"Hey. You can't change what's already happened"

"I guess not" she chuckled. "Thanks...for being so understanding. I mean, you're so calm about all this, even when you could get killed" she huffed. Colin sighed and looked up from the flickering flames and at her.

"I'm not scared of dying...not at all" He shrugged.

"What?" She asked.

"It's dying alone that scares me, petrifies me. I mean, ya can be surrounded by your best friends, your loved ones and die happy, cos ya didn't have to do it alone, or in pain, but to be on your own and die? No...No way. Only company ya got is the sky and the person about to kill ya, I wouldn't wish that on anyone" He sighed. Arcee blinked at him.

"So...as long as you're not alone...you're not scared?" she asked him shyly. He smiled at her.

"Not at all" He gently said. She nodded as she took in what he said.

"So" He broke the silence. "Who is this Flamewar chap we keep hearing about?"

"She's...I don't know who she is. She's been stalking me for years, wanting me dead, and I don't know why. I haven't done anything to her" Arcee shrugged.

"Well, I reckon best to keep ya eyes open lass" He smiled. She chuckled gently, leaning back against the hull, stretching her legs out.

"You're alright Colin"

"Aye. Same to you...Arcee" He nodded. Something kept biting at the back of her mind though, so she vocalized it.

"Colin...you said you worked for M.E.C.H?"

"A month tops. Soon as I saw what they do...I was outta there. Sick bastards. I mean, they had dead soldiers and were sticking metal and circuitry in them! Sick, sick bastards!" He grimaced.

"I just had to ask. Sorry. I can't risk Jack"

"No problem at all. Be weird if you didn't ask" he shrugged. She smiled.

"Get some rest. I'll keep watch" Arcee said. Colin nodded as he tilted his head back and relaxed, closing his eyes. She sat by the flames, looking over at Jack asleep in the corner.

"I've messed up big time...I'm scared, like you Colin...I'm afraid of dying alone" She whispered to herself.

...

Morning arose suddenly and Arcee opened her optics wide. She rubbed them and quickly looked around the hull. Jack was sat up, checking his shoulder. Colin was stamping out the fire, smoke pluming around his boot.

"Morning lass" Colin chuckled.

"Sorry...must have powered down" she yawned, stretching her arms.

"No problem. I took watch around sixish" He shrugged. Suddenly sounds outside made all three of them go rigid, peering at the wing blocking out the morning light.

"Gah, all night and no sign of her!" Blackout's deep baritone voice sounded, a chill wavering Jack's spine, along with Colin's and Arcee's.

"Hush now sweetie, my precious Arcee and Jack cannot be far" Airachnid cooed, their voices slightly muffled by the wing door.

Suddenly a thump on top of the hull sounded, Arcee grimacing and Jack wincing. Colin simply reached over to his rifle footsteps on top of the plane hull thumped in a rhythm.

"Shut up you two, and keep searching! They must have doubled back around!" Flamewar snarled, obviously the one on top of the hull.

"When we find her, I want to have a little chat first" Tailgate growled, his voice more distant than the others. Arcee looked at Colin and Jack.

"Okay, you two make a break for it. I'll cover you from behind, understood" Arcee ordered.

"Not happening lass. Hate to say it but they're after you, which gives me the element of surprise. I can hit them from behind, slow them down" He picked up a grenade launcher. Arcee shook her head.

"No Colin" she whispered loudly. He shushed her.

"Allow me this. You two go and get your relic. I'll meet you both in the south forest. All I'm doing is slowing the big brutes down" He explained. Jack looked at her.

"We do need that relic" He sighed. Arcee rubbed the bridge of her eyes.

"South forest, agreed?" she firmly stated.

"Aye" He nodded. She got up and Jack stood with her. Colin ran to the other side of the hull, getting ready as he shimmied out a small hole in the hull.

Arcee pressed her palms against the wing. She took a deep inhale and exhale.

"Ready Jack?" She asked. He reluctantly nodded, the terrifying sounds of huge footsteps stomping by outside.

"Go!" Colin shouted, Arcee pushing the wing over and filling the hull with bright morning light, beams of solid dust filled light flooding the plane carcass. They ran out into the snow covered field, plane pieces strewn everywhere.

Jack sprinted as fast as he could, Arcee right behind him. In the backs of his ears he heard the Hunters.

"There! They're making a break for it!" Blackout shouted, his huge footsteps gaining speed as he slammed his torso through the plane hull, blowing it apart. He gave chase on foot, his tremendous size forcing him to jog. Arcee ran even faster.

"Go! Jack run! Don't stop!" She shouted as Jack kept sprinting faster and faster, darting for the woods.

Blackout caught up alongside them, flicking his wrist allowing his rotors to fold out like a butterfly knife. Airachnid stood on top of the severed hull, peering out over the land as Blackout chased Arcee and Jack. She smirked and hopped off the hull, chasing on two feet as well.

Suddenly Flamewar sped past Airachnid, seemingly faster than her. The bipedal orange and black Arcee sprinted full pelt across the field.

Meanwhile Colin stepped out from behind the hull, aiming his grenade launcher at Airachnid.

"Hey! Big, tall and ugly!" He shouted, unleashing a grenade at her. An explosion and puff of smoke shoved her spine. She turned and looked at Colin. With an eye roll she turned and continued onwards to Arcee and Jack. Colin snarled his lip.

"Oh don't turn your back on me you stuck up Bitch!" Colin roared as he fired more grenades at her. Airachnid grew more infuriated with the man.

"Oh you want to play with the hunter? Well then, I do still need a head for my collection. Since my Jack destroyed it, I guess we can start off with humans" She smirked, flicking her fingers out.

"That's more like it" Colin chuckled as he quickly ducked back behind the plane, narrowly avoiding a swipe of her sharp talon fingers.

At the same time, Jack managed to just reach the tree line when Blackout slammed his wrist against Arcee, clothes-lining her. As she fell backwards, dazed and damaged, Flamewar grabbed her head and slammed it down with brute force, a crater of rock and mud forming and a bang echoing.

"ARCEE!" Jack screamed from the tree line as he watched her try to sit up, Blackout's huge hand engulfing her as he picked her up and grinds his spinning rotors against her torso, sparks flying. He spun and threw her across the field, sending Arcee crashing through a strewn wing like it was paper.

Jack watched helplessly as Arcee staggered from the wing. Flamewar sprinted at Arcee, slamming a boot against her torso and immediately bringing her metallic orange wrist down on the back of her head. Arcee fell to her knees, suddenly taking Blackout's boot to the face, sending her flying once more.

Jack reached into his pocket, grabbing his mobile. He flicked it open and tried to contact Ratchet.

"Hello? Hello, Ratchet? Scrap!" he groaned. "Airachnid's put up another scrambler no doubt" His thoughts were cut short as Flamewar crashed through a set of trees near Jack, the timber pillars dropping and falling around her from their smashed stumps.

"You'll pay for that" She snarled as the fiery Arcee stood up to lunge at the Autobot Arcee. Jack hid behind a tree stump as he watched Arcee getting beaten from all sides.

"Think Jack, think...wait, the relic!" Jack snapped his fingers together. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Arcee's scanning device.

"Huh, it says it's...here?" He looked around and it beeped faster as he saw the broken trees where Flamewar had landed. There, nestled in the crater was a black bracelet, with a crystal sand timer on its outer shell. It no doubt fell off of Flamewar. He scoffed a laugh of luck and ran over to it, his eyes gazing back to check on Arcee.

Arcee felt a fiery hand grasp her throat and looked as Flamewar picked her up, roaring with jagged teeth at her. She threw Arcee and Blackout slammed a fist down on her in mid air. Arcee bounced off the floor from the impact. She groaned in pain but didn't have time to hurt as Blackout picked her up again, throwing her like a rag doll.

Jack picked up the Relic, holding it tight as he watched the events unfold.

Colin fired around the side of the hull, only to see no one there. Airachnid was gone. With a raised eyebrow he stepped out into the open, weapon raised. Behind him, several purple spider legs tingled their way along the metal hull. He heard the movement and turned, only for a sharp leg to stab through his torso, protruding from his back. Colin gasped in pain and blood spat from his lips.

"Filthy things, humans" Airachnid sighed as she dropped him hard and ran towards Arcee to join in the fight. Colin slumped to his knees.

"I...I...I said, don't turn ya...y-ya back on...me" he chuckled, turning and firing all his grenades at her, the recoil knocking him over flat on his back. Airachnid felt the explosions engulf her and she was thrown from the plane, unconscious on the ground. Blackout turned to see her, long enough for Arcee to leap up off his knee and slam a boot against his head. As he fell back, she pushed off his head and fired her blasters through the air at Flamewar.

Flamewar fell back dazed and Arcee landed with a forward roll, suddenly in motorcycle form. She raced under Blackout as he lunged for her and sped towards Jack. Flamewar raised her own wrist blasters, once again identical to Arcee's and fired at her, orange fiery bolts hitting the ground around the motorcycle.

Arcee transformed in the tree line and followed Jack as they began running deeper into the woods. Flamewar snarled a lip as she watched her escape. Blackout sat up and shook his head, still dazed.

"Err...whoa...she got away...the woods, we can't get through them" he growled. Flamewar strutted over to a tree.

"Well, you know what theysay. Everything burns" she smirked; placing a heated palm on the bark and setting the tree alight, spreading through the forest.


	14. Chapter 14: I'm not afraid anymore

Colin opened his eyes and everything was bright white and hazy. He sat up in the silence and peered down at his chest. There was no wound, no blood, no rip. After patting his chest gently, he stood up with a groan and looked around. It was the same field, but warm, no snow, just vibrant green grass. The plane wreck was nowhere to be seen.

He heard a voice and turned around to see a hill in the bright white light. He started walking towards it weakly, seeing a figure walking down the hill towards him. A woman in a long flowing white dress, snug in all the right places showing her wonderful curves and cut low at the chest, yet elegant. Long brunette hair flowed down her shoulders and bright eyes gleamed at him. She let a smile grace her lips and she reached a sleeveless arm out to him. Colin smiled as he knew who she was: Amber.

"Hello sweetheart" She smiled warmly. Colin fought the urge to burst into happy tears as he reached up and took her hand. She turned and began walking up the hill with Colin in watched the elegant beauty before him in the white hazy land of green. On his left he heard voices, turning and seeing a copy of Amber and Colin stood at a ghostly alter. She was in the same white dress and he in a suit. They smiled warmly at one another, eyes fixed on each other. He watched the other version of him flip her veil gently and reveal her face in all its beauty.

"I now declare you husband and wife" An omnipotent voice said. The two figures kissed passionately before dissolving into white cloud. He realized he was seeing figments of his life, a life he couldn't have, and desperately wanted. At this moment, it didn't seem that way though. He was still seeing it all before him.

He turned to the right and saw another vision of Amber and Colin sat together, slightly older and Amber bouncing a toddler on her knee. Wedding rings of gold on one another and a child between them. Joy oozed from them before once again fading into white clouds.

Colin peered forward as they continued towards the vibrant green summit of the hill. The sad reality, was that Colin was walking up a hill on his own, trudging through the snow, eyes fixed on something that wasn't there. Walking up the hill behind him was a tall white and metallic blue figure, shadowing Colin.

Back in Colin's view, the white haze that surrounded the hill spread out for miles, the only thing in this dimension of white being the hill they were on. Finally he and Amber reached the summit. She turned and smiled at him warmly as he smiled back. A dab of blood fell from his mouth and onto his wrist. Amber reached over, wiping it away with her thumb.

Once more in reality, Colin was stood at the top of the hill with blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth, eyes transfixed on something not there. The tall Hunter reached the summit behind him.

Amber caressed his cheek as she leaned forward, kissing his forehead gently.

"Don't be afraid sweetheart. Don't be afraid my wonderful man" She hummed, stroking his cheek. Colin slowly dropped to his knees as she dropped with him, both kneeling as they kept staring at each other.

On the snowy hill, Colin fell to his knees heavily with a thud in the snow. The smell of burning trees and wood smoke filled the air. Tailgate stood behind him, his chrome Energon revolver folding out of his wrist.

"I'm not afraid..." Colin stammered weakly as he gazed into Amber's gorgeous face before his. She cupped his face and pressed her forehead against his, both tilting their heads to do so.

In reality, he was in an execution kneeling pose, his head held low. The barrel of the chrome revolver pushed on the back of his head.

Colin smiled as he held her close, his eyes opened and he peered into her bright ones. His left hand reached into his shirt and he pulled out his necklace. She gazed down at it and smiled.

"After all this time?" She hummed.

"Always" Colin spluttered. She kissed his forehead.

"Go to sleep my wonderful hero. Don't be afraid"

Colin smiled in reality, all alone on top of the hill except for his Cybertronian executioner. His thumb rubbed over the necklace charm.

"I'm not afraid...because I'm not alone...I've never been alone" He smiled as he kept his eyes fixed on amber in the white haze. She gave a smile and once more they pressed foreheads, eyes closed.

"I'm not afraid..."

Arcee and Jack ran through the forest when a loud gunshot echoed, birds fluttering from the trees. Both of them froze solid and they peered back.

"Colin..." Jack sighed.

"Goodbye Colin. Thank you" Arcee nodded warmly, both having to turn and flee once more.

* * *

**Author Notes: Short Chapter, but Colin's death deserved one on its own. Written and imagined listening to "****_Cristian Onofreiciuc - The Wonders of the Universe." _****Seriously, listen to it while reading this. Makes it a lot more emotional. - Dave **


	15. Chapter 15: The impossible truth

Arcee and Jack cleared the forest and arrived in another large expanse of field, trees surrounding its border and huge mountains topped with snow in the distance. Arcee checked Jack as he walked beside her. He was carrying the bracelet. Arcee saw his expression.

"Jack...about Colin"

"We failed him!" He shouted, throwing the relic on the grassy floor and running his hands through his hair. Arcee sighed, dropping her head.

"I know we did...But he...He saved us" she finished. Jack shook his head at her.

"He...died! Died, and for what? For this?!" Jack pointed at the Relic. "This...thing?" He couldn't find the word he wanted.

"I don't even know what it does" Jack growled.

"That is the Time-shifter. It is a teleportation machine capable of sending the user back in time" Flamewar's voice came. Arcee glared at her as she stepped in front of Jack defensively. "However, it's just a prototype, so it can only jump three days max" The fiery bot walked forward casually in front of the burning forest. Blackout slammed through the charred trees and shrugged his shoulders, knocking burning wood and ash off his arm.

Airachnid was beside him, along with Tailgate. Flamewar smirked as she glared at Arcee.

"Jack, you take that relic and you run" Arcee firmly stated, her eyes never breaking their gaze with Flamewar's.

"No way! We're in this together" Jack objected.

"Ooh, so very brave" Flamewar cooed with a smirk. Arcee gritted her dentures. By this point Blackout and the others were beside Flamewar.

"Well here we are Arcee! Your past, your future...come to end you" Flamewar held her arms out as she chuckled.

"Jack...Run. I can't fight them if I know you're in trouble" she snarled. Jack sighed, knowing she was right, turning and running for the distant forest across the flat of grass. He had the relic in his grasp. Arcee rolled her shoulders and cricked her neck.

"You want me...come get me" She smirked, though still incredibly nervous. All of the Hunters lunged at her. Arcee extended her wrist blades, blocking as many attacks as she could, but she was vastly outnumbered. Blackout's huge blade slammed down on her and she blocked it as best she could.

Flamewar swung a punch that slammed against Arcee's cranium, knocking her back into Airachnid's claws. She sliced and stabbed at the Autobot femme. As Arcee stumbled free, Tailgate fired several shots with his Energon rifle into her chest, knocking her back. Blackout came behind her, grasping her head and throwing her up in the air before slamming her back down into the ground with a thump.

Arcee tried to sit up but Flamewar was faster, grasping her throat and repeatedly laying punches into Arcee's face. Arcee tried to break free, but Flamewar pinned her down by her throat, Tailgate overhead, trying to aim over Flamewar at her. Flamewar stared into Arcee's eyes with white hot fury. Her mouth dissolved into the terrifying Jack O lantern grin, jagged charred teeth flaring and a mouthful of fire spitting. Arcee's eyes widened in fear. She'd never seen anything like it. Airachnid also grabbed at Arcee's head and throat, pinning her further.

"Now, now. Just give up fighting, forget you have responsibilities!" Flamewar demonically spoke as she grappled Arcee into the crater, along with Tailgate and Airachnid. Arcee cocked a choked eyebrow.

"It's what you're good at" Flamewar smirked.

Arcee grew enraged and roared as she raised her wrist blasters and fired a continuous beam of blue energy across them like a laser beam. She roared in anger as the beam sliced across the group of hunter's faces and extremities. They all staggered back, blinded from the beam. Arcee rolled out of the crater, narrowly avoiding a thump of Blackout's fist. She quickly slammed a boot against his head, knocking the titan back. Just as she spun back around, Tailgate's fist smashed against her face, throwing Arcee across the ground.

The dazed hero sat up, shaking her head as Tailgate marched over from behind. She chose her moment and rolled over, swiping her wrist blade across his jaw again. She pressed both her boots into his chest and heaved as she pushed him up off the ground and into Blackout, knocking them both over. Arcee staggered to her feet, but her head sharply jerked back from a swift kick of Airachnid's boot.

"Oh come now Arcee, you should have seen this coming!" Airachnid chuckled. Arcee stood up swiftly and she leaped at Airachnid, kicking her in the side of her head, knocking the spider femme down. She grappled with Airachnid, avoiding her sharp talon legs jabbing at her. She grasped one of the legs, listening over her shoulder as the fast footfalls of Flamewar grew closer. Arcee thought quickly, tugging on the leg until it ripped clean off of Airachnid, making her squeal. Arcee immediately spun around and swung the leg like a bat, catching Flamewar across the jaw, knocking her down with a rolling thump.

Airachnid groaned in pain, now down to seven of her limbs. She looked over as Blackout sat up with a groan. Tailgate shook his head beside the titan. Fury overcame Blackout and he clambered to his feet, stamping over to Arcee' cricking his neck.

Arcee stood over Flamewar, the limb raised. Suddenly Blackout grasped her waist and he threw her across the field. Once she landed, she dug her hands into the dirt, stopping her slide, leaving a trail of ripped earth. She peered up as Tailgate's muscle car form raced towards her. Arcee shook her damaged head and tried to stand up from the ripped dirt and snow. She quickly rolled aside as Tailgate transformed, missing her by inches. She was too slow though as he quickly approached her, grasping her wrists and staring at her.

"Ow...Tailgate!" She pleaded as in his fury he began to unknowingly crush her servos and wrist plating like soft sponge. Sparks spat from her dented forearms.

"Ow...Tailgate! ow!" She cried out. He heard her whimpers and something snapped. His eyes bolted wide and the red mist faded. He let go, staggering back.

"Arcee...I...I err" He shook his head. She took her chance, not hearing his apologetic mumblings. She swung a boot and caught his face, knocking him over. She immediately turned as she peered at the burning forest from which she'd come. Blackout grabbed a charred tree trunk with his huge palm and roared as he ripped the root veins from the earths muddy skin. Arcee's eyes widened as the titanic log hurtled through the air, Blackout's roar echoing as he threw it like a javelin. She quickly rolled aside as the mass of timber exploded on impact, splinters of wood erupting outwards.

She shook her head and looked onwards as Flamewar stood with clenched fists, her huge shark like mouth roaring demonically. Arcee felt shivers tingle down her spine at the monster's appearance. Suddenly she felt another sensation as a blast of Energon scathed her cheek. She screamed as she fell forward. Airachnid stood with her blaster stretched out before her.

Arcee struggled to sit up. She peered up from her floored position at Flamewar's legs before her. She kicked a cloud of dust into Arcee's face. She snarled a leaking Energon lip at Flamewar. The fire bot simply scoffed a laugh. She bent down into a crouched stature to be eye level with Arcee.

"You know what you are?" Flamewar smirked. Arcee kept her angered gaze. She leaned forward to whisper in Arcee's ear.

"Weak. Unfit...to be a Guardian, an Autobot...a Sparkmate"

Arcee suddenly lunged forward, knocking Flamewar down. She picked up Airachnid's strewn limb.

"Wait! Wait!" Flamewar pleaded, hiding in Arcee's shadow.

"Give me one good reason!" Arcee snarled. Flamewar hid behind her wrists.

"Well...you wouldn't kill...your own sister, would you?"


	16. Chapter 16: The Inferno of the past

**IMPORTANT Author note: Sorry guys, made an error on the last chapter and wanted to clarify, I accidentally wrote Daughter instead of Sister. It is her sister, not her daughter. Just so it makes sense. Sorry for the mistake guys! - Dave**

* * *

Arcee staggered back, eyes as wide as could possibly go. She dropped the limb and looked as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Wha...Sis...wha?" Arcee mumbled. Flamewar stood up, cricking her neck.

"That's right. I am the sister of Arcee. I _was_ Chromia. But by the time Shockwave got me...after his experiments...I became this." She gestured to herself.

"How...H-H...How?" Arcee asked, even the other Hunters being awestruck.

"Well, it's not too difficult sis. I mean think about it...really think about it. How and why would I turn against you?" Flamewar sneered, crossing her heated arms. Arcee lowered her eyes in thought.

"I looked up to you. You were the sister I aspired to be! By the time of my creation, Elita was out with the bots on missions, you were only a few cycles older than me. When we grew older, you grew more distant, as if...ignoring me, ashamed by me" Flamewar delved into memory as she told her story. Arcee was still baffled by this whole event.

"When we were being educated about our history, learning our knowledge, you made sure to distance yourself from me. I was the runt of the litter as the humans say, and you didn't look out for me. Too busy making friends" Flamewar sighed.

_Iacon Primary School, before the war ravaged its pristine surface. Bright blue hums illuminated from the metal planet's skin and it was teaming with Cybertronian life. Inside the school playground, break was issued, and small Sparklings played and frolicked. None had symbols for factions; none knew what would drive a wedge between them: Autobot or Decepticon._

_"Hey Cee!" Chromia chuckled as the little fembot ran to her sister across the Cybertronian playground. She was smaller, definitely the runt of the litter. Arcee rolled her giant young blue eyes to her friends. The other bots giggled as she turned._

_"What is it Chromia?" Arcee said, less than amused, hand on hip. At this age she hadn't developed her curvaceous physique. _

_"Hi! I was just wondering if I could play with you guys" the adorable little blue and silver bot smiled shyly, an inwardly turned foot swiveling. She looked up with massive blue optics above soft silver cheeks. Arcee sighed, rubbing her optics with finger and thumb. _

_"Look, sis, don't you think you'd be better off hanging out with those bots?" She pointed over to a group of small bots playing by a slide, which incidentally had Tailgate and Cliffjumper playing together, unaware of how their friendship would change as a fight for Arcee in eons to come. Other bots included Barricade, young, small and black and white; Knockout who burst into Energon tears when someone scraped his finish. _

_Chromia looked away and back at her big sister._

_"But...I wanna hang out with you guys! You're cool!" she smiled with a cheeky grin. Arcee sighed, her tactic failing. Her older fembot friends snuffed Chromia with a tut and scoff as they got up, walking away._

_"Coming Arcee? Or do you want to play with your Sparkling sister?" One of the Fembot's called with such snobbery. Chromia clenched tiny fists by her side, pouting._

_"Hey! Maybe she will! Come on big sis" She grabbed Arcee's hand and went to lead her away, feeling as if she hit an invisible wall as Arcee didn't move._

_"Look, I've got friends my age, who understand what I talk about" Arcee sighed. Chromia looked at her with betrayal. _

_"I'm sorry, go play with bots your own age" Arcee said more nastily than she intended, looking away and jogging over to her friends as the bell rang out. Chromia stood looking at Arcee leaving. Her bottom lip began to tremble as she stood alone in the giant playground, bigger bots brushing by the tiny runt. Her optics gave a flicker to their glassy upset state. She turned and walked defeated towards the bots she mentioned. _

_Barricade got up onto his short stubby legs and gave Cliffjumper a high five. Chromia sat down with a thump, head in hands._

_"Hey, what's got you upset little bot?" Cliffjumpers high pitched young voice said. She looked up at the big eyed Cliffjumper with stubby red arms and legs. _

_"I'm not little!" Chromia bat his hand away as she got up and ran away in tears. Cliffjumper stood awestruck. Barricade stood beside him with a raised eyebrow, Tailgate too._

_"What was that?" Barricade giggled. Cliffjumper shook his tiny head._

_"No idea"_

_"Ah she's just a runt, let her be" Came the voice of Drift on top of the silver jungle gym, overlooking Iacon over the playground walls. Cliffjumper shook his head and picked up his bag as he and his other friends ran to class. They were still way too young to have an alternate mode, only adolescent Cybertronians and teenagers could transform. It was an addition added in that stage, like puberty. _

_"Hey, you wanna go to the gladiator ring after school!" Barricade smiled to his friends. Cliffjumper nodded enthusiastically. Tailgate shied away._

_"Gee, I dunno. Last time it was pretty brutal" _

_"Yeah! Tonight, Megatronus versus Soundwave! This should be one epic duel!" Barricade cheered enthusiastically. _

_Meanwhile, hidden under the slide came loud gasping cries. Chromia sat huddling her mechanical knees under the slide, crying heavily. Her Energon tears ran down her cheeks, and her sister was nowhere in sight. _

"I felt betrayed. You would rather have popular friends your own age than look after me" Flamewar snarled in the Highland field. Arcee sighed.

"I'm sorry, I was a stupid teenbot. We make mistakes"

"Ah but we do. Yours was only just beginning" Flamewar smirked as she continued her story.

_The young little bot looked up under the slide with anger and upset flaring her optics. As time went by, years went by, her optics faded and formed into more feminine features. The eyes had curling flicks of metal like eyelashes and her cheeks weren't as plump and young, but smooth and silver. Her smirk was no longer dimpled but smooth and curved. _

_She was now a teenbot, and she was changed. With a vehicular mode, she was starting to feel as if she was catching up to her sister. She didn't feel like the runt anymore. Her curvaceous form, like Arcee's was now graced upon her thanks to the Cybertronian form of Puberty._

_At the Iacon high school, she was in her final year, proving to be formidable in the sparring arena, an idea called upon the school by none other than Megatronus. The war was in the distant future, but already the start was insight. Megatronus and Orion were arguing with the council and each other. Soon, Megatron would be born. _

_Chromia flipped over Barricades head, the much broader and grown up looking bot feeling her thighs squash against his head as she pulled herself back and threw him over her. He slammed against the sparring ring floor. She quickly got up and pressed her foot on his back, claiming victory. _

_Chromia in this stage of her life was very pretty. She had grown up well. With her sisters eyes and lips, she had grown into a beautiful bot. On the back of her head was a metal ponytail-like appendage that flicked and swayed. She was primarily blue with silver highlights. A loud, slow clap sounded and Sentinel Prime stood proudly as he looked out over the room of Teenbots. _

_"Excellent execution young one.I must congratulate you on such a well thought out disabling of your opponent. Barricade...better luck next time" Sentinel chuckled gently as Chromia removed her boot so he could sit up. _

_"Thank you sir. I wish to serve as soon as I am able, like my sisters" Chromia smiled, standing rigid and saluting the Prime._

_"You will go very far young one, but only if you control your temper" Sentinel educated. Chromia nodded._

_"Right, who's up against Chromia next?" Kup, the gym teacher shouted, with a cigar burning in his mouth. He scanned the bots as Sentinel marched back up the steps to stand next to Kup. The tall red Prime stood proudly, his beard tendrils swaying. _

_"Ah, you. Up front young bot" Kup called. Chromia turned, feeling dominant over the ring. Barricade limped out of the ring as Knockout stepped in, a smirk on his faceplate, one he'd wear for years and years to come. _

_"Remember...not the finish" He chuckled, raising his palms. Chromia scoffed a laugh and took her stance. Soon the bell echoed and Chromia lunged, avoiding Knockout's swinging fist. She ducked and swooped as he swung erratically._

_"Knock, control your moves son!" Kup called, rolling his optics. Sentinel scoffed with a smirk. Chromia was in her combat frame of mind: Duck, swing, duck again. Move to the left, upper cut...now! She swung her fist upward, lifting Knockout off the ground. He fell back on the ring with a bouncing thump, powered down. She shook her fist as Kup ran down the steps to Knockout's side. He checked him over._

_"Well...she one hit K.O'd...Knockout. Irony" Kup chuckled as he stood up with a groan._

_"You are a formidable opponent" Sentinel said from on top of the steps. Chromia nodded to him with thanks. _

_"Perhaps you can be allowed to pursue this further, by joining Master Prowl's class. He is teaching bots the ways of mastering skills and honing their abilities. I want you to enlist" Sentinel smiled from the steps. Chromia's face lit up._

_"Oh my Primus! Thank you! Thank you so much! I-I-I'll work hard I promise! Gah, this is amazing!"_

_"Especially for a Bot your age" Barricade chuckled. Chromia shook her head and rolled her eyes at the comment._

_"I understand that your sister Arcee is training under his guidance as well. Will this be an issue?"_

_"No! No not at all, I love my sister! I looked up to her, she's my inspiration" Chromia gleamed. Sentinel nodded once._

_"Then it is decided. I will tell Prowl the news" Sentinel smiled. Chromia fist pumped with glee. _

"Life was going well. I trained with Prowl, but by that point you were done, and working with the Autobots when the war started. Once I'd finished my training and it was time to join the fight, I had to find you. We could have been sisters in combat! Sisters who fought together, side by side!" Flamewar said as Arcee's vision of Chromia before her shifted and melted back to the present, forming Flamewar.

_Chromia jogged out onto the war torn battlefield, a grin on her face. She looked up at the rising pillars of jet black smoke and the wail of racing fighters bellowing overhead. Towers crumbled and disintegrated as the huge expanding plume of dust and rubble swallowed the towers in its maw. _

_"Yes! Finally some action!" She cheered as she readied her newly added blasters on each arm, like Arcee. Bots barged past her as they ran out into combat, gunfire blasting back and forth. To her left stood a medic, hands deep in the circuitry of a screaming Autobot. _

_"Hey! You seen a bot called Arcee?! Looked a bit like me?" She older medic looked up at her, his identity being Ratchet. _

_"Look, I am quite preoccupied right now! But yes, she's down by the battlefront!" He shouted over the explosions and gunfire, not to mention metallic screams. Chromia nodded and got up, jogging onwards, her slender form making her lighter and faster. Ratchet turned his gaze back to the now silent bot his hands were in, his dead optics gazing into nothing. Ratchet sighed heavily and removed his hands as he slammed his head down into them with defeat, the bot's Energon staining them. _

_Chromia finally reached the front, gazing over the mass of soldiers. She could see Tailgate and Cliffjumper firing over the cover, alongside Jazz. She kept scanning when she saw a blue femme matching Arcee running after an escaping Decepticon. Chromia knew she could help. A smile graced her face and she transformed, her Cybertronian motorcycle giving chase. _

_Meanwhile, Arcee ran into an abandoned building, her blasters raised._

_"Where are you?" She mumbled to herself in the darkness. Suddenly the Decepticon leaped at her, clenching his grip around her wrists. They slammed against a pillar as Arcee's blasters fired erratically into the ceiling. She growled back at the Con as it's red eyes flared brighter. _

_Suddenly a blaster shot hit it in the side of its head, knocking the Con to the ground in a dead heap. Arcee looked on in shock, snapping her head towards the intruder. Chromia stood with her blaster raised, blowing smoke from the barrel, a smirk on her face._

_"No! Why'd you do that!" Arcee shouted at her sister._

_"What? I saved you"_

_"No, that Con had sensitive information on the location of a Bomb big enough to level Iacon, and you killed him!" Arcee snarled._

_"Well I didn't know, did I?" Chromia defended._

_"Graaargh, this is exactly why I don't like having you around! You're reckless!" Arcee roared at her sister. Chromia flared a lip._

_"Frag off. I saved your aft, and you're blaming me?" Chromia hissed. Arcee rolled her eyes as she turned to check the Decepticon body. _

_"Still the same kid" Arcee mumbled. Chromia picked up a murmur._

_"What was that?" She snarled._

_"I said..." she stopped as the Decepticon groaned. She lifted her finger to her ear, contacting someone. "Arcee to Orion Pax, I have the Con. He's near dead, but I can try you get the location out of him"_

_"Understood, do what you can. Warpath, Prowl and I will manoeuvre around the side. Autobots, roll out!" The communication grasped the Con by the scruff of his neck as she hoisted him up. He spat Energon on the floor from his damaged face._

_"Where is the bomb?" Arcee snarled._

_"Here, let me" Chromia started._

_"Go home" Arcee snarled, Chromia stopping dead in her tracks._

_"What? B-but I can help!"_

_"Go home Chromia, I work alone" Arcee hissed turning her gaze back to the Con with gritted teeth. The Con gulped. _

_"Hey! I can help" Chromia stated. Arcee sighed. _

_"Look, just get out of here-"_

_"Yeah, seriously kid, you're embarrassing yourself" the Con smirked. Arcee snarled at him. _

_"No really, I can go get help!" Chromia jogged towards the exit. The Con smirked as he flicked his wrist and threw a small device onto Chromia's leg. _

_"You want the location of the bomb? There it is" He chuckled as Chromia transformed; going to get help, only now she was carrying a highly explosive bomb into an Autobot camp. Arcee's eyes widened._

_"Chromia wait!" Arcee called as she sped off. Arcee groaned in annoyance as she dropped the Con. She jogged towards the exit. _

_"Nice legs hot wheels" the Con smirked from the floor._

_"You should see my wrist" She commented with her back turned to him. He raised an eyebrow._

_"Why?" he asked. She spun around and aimed her wrist blaster, blowing the Con's head apart. _

_"That's why. Now to stop my idiot sister" She groaned, transforming and racing after Chromia. After boosting her form as fast as she could, she caught up with Chromia, seeing the rapidly beeping device on her side. She sped up a ramp like shard of metal and transformed, leaping into the air and landing on Chromia._

_"Hey! What are you-" Arcee ignored her as she grabbed the device and ripped it off, throwing it up into the air as high as she could with all her might. The beeping device quickened and quickened until finally it erupted in a huge fireball. It lit up the daytime sky, all the bots watching the huge fireball burning itself out._

_Arcee and Chromia lay on the floor, shielding their eyes. The tectonic bang diminished and the fireball faded into a mushroom cloud of smoke. Arcee glared at Chromia. _

_"Whoops" She nervously giggled. _

_"You...Idiot! You could have killed the whole camp with your recklessness!" Arcee scolded her._

_"Okay, you've made your point" Chromia rolled her eyes._

_"See! You think this is all a game! Wake up! Grow up!" Arcee snarled. _

_"I just want to be like you-"_

_"Well stop! You never will be!" Arcee roared, covering her mouth as she realized her angered words. Chromia looked crushed._

_"Y-you...frag off. Just frag off!" Chromia screamed as she got up and ran towards the base. Arcee sat broken hearted at her words, though Chromia never knew that._

"You were self obsessed, and I wasn't. It tore me apart. It was then I realized that your heroes, the people you aspire to, want to be turn out to be the monsters. My mistake was believing that I could be like my sister. I should have been my own person...so I did. I went on as Chromia, not some Arcee copy. That was when..." Flamewar peered at Blackout. She gave him a coy wink, Airachnid widening her eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck. Airachnid was stood beside him during this brief ceasefire.

_"_I did enjoy out little fling Blackout" Flamewar winked. "But I never loved you, and neither did you to me, hence our lack of Spark bonding" she shrugged. Airachnid narrowed her eyes at Blackout, arms crossed.

"What? I was still an Autobot back then. Airachnid, you and I are Sparkmates, not me and her" Blackout tried. She rolled her purple eyes.

"Discuss it after"

"Aw...I'm getting my rotor aft kicked" Blackout groaned, Airachnid scoffing a slight laugh.

"Chromia, I thought you were killed by a mine?" Tailgate spoke. Arcee was carefully stepping backwards, Jack still running across the field behind to safety.

"Only half" Flamewar chuckled.

_Centuries into the war and the much older, wiser Chromia walked with an Autobot Blackout through the debris field of a crashed warship. Blackout slid over a block as did she._

_"So, you realize you and I haven't...you know" Chromia smirked. Blackout raised an eyebrow down at her._

_"You know...Fragged" She chuckled. Blackout's eyes bolstered wide. _

_"Oh...right. Well err, I guess-" He was cut short by her finger over his lips as she stood on tip-toes to reach him. _

_"Maybe, when we get back...we can interface a little" She sexily winked. Blackout gulped nervously._

_"Come on, let's finished our patrol" She smiled as she walked onwards before him. Blackout stood tall and surveyed the area. He raised an eyebrow at the crash. No flames, boxes seemed to be strewn but in a specific order and size, not to mention angle. He looked up at the tall towers around them, possible snipers. Suddenly his eyes widened. It wasn't a real crash site, it was a trap._

_"It's a trap!" Blackout roared, but to late as Chromia stepped forward unawares on a mine, exploding and blowing her upwards, her limps shattering and tearing from her. Blackout staggered back in shock._

_"NO!" He cried, jogging to her side. She was lying in pieces, Energon everywhere. He tried to help her but she groaned at the pain. Blackout couldn't grieve for long as Decepticons erupted from behind walls, hundreds. The massive warship began to shift, simply pretending to be crashed: Trypticon. Blackout was vastly outnumbered as Energon blasts hit his torso. Eventually he was forced to flee, pleading to save her. A bridge opened and he stepped through in tears. The Decepticons surrounded her and smirked, Shockwave amongst them._

_"This will do perfectly for Lord Megatron's experiments. Project Flamewar can finally begin. Take her!" Shockwave ordered as the Cons grabbed at her. Chromia's tearful optics shut as they hauled her remains off. _

In the present, Flamewar lifted her head and sighed heavily. "And so, they tortured, tested and eventually made...me. Putting lava and fire into my Energon stream" She gestured to herself. Arcee stood in awe.

"I...Chromia"

"You lost the right to call me that long ago" Flamewar snarled. Arcee stepped back slightly.

"I...I don't know what to say...I'm sorry, I was a stupid teen, a young commander, I was scared, the war-"

STOP MAKING EXCUSES!" Flamewar roared with her massive Jack O lantern mouth and jagged flinched at the sight of her sister.

"I'm sorry" Arcee trembled.

"Oh now you're sorry, because I'm a threat. All along you've never cared for me, always pushed me away to be with the popular bots, to be a lone wolf. Then I hear that you run with partners! I couldn't have that now could I. While trying to hunt you down, I stumbled on Tailgate, and saved him. I told him the truth of you, and now he sees it" Flamewar snarled. Arcee gritted her teeth. Tailgate stood beside Flamewar.

"We gave the Con's the location of Cliffjumper at that Energon deposit where they got him, wounded him. Where he lost...this" Flamewar held a small cardboard box in her grip. It was the same box Jack had put her present in he'd been working on.

"found it in the plane. Maybe her Sparkmate did it for her, maybe she just carries it around, I dunno" She chucked the box to Arcee, the Autobot catching it. She carefully removed the lid and saw the inside: Jack's gift. A silver necklace, she lifted it from the box with heavy Energon tears welling. She saw what the necklace was holding. It was Cliffjumper's horn. That was what Smokescreen recovered from the wreck of Omega-One. That was what Jack had made for her. A little note under it read: _Now he's with you wherever you go. Love from Jack._

"Notice how there's nothing on there to remember you Tailgate?" Flamewar stirred. Tailgate tensed his dentures. The ceasefire was drawing to a close; the Hunter's were getting ready for the next part, the final battle. Arcee was still watching the horn swing like a pendulum.

"Oh Jack" she whimpered as she smiled at his incredibly thoughtful gift.

"That reminds me" Flamewar smirked as she leaned around Arcee, seeing Jack running to the tree line. "Airachnid, why don't you go and kill the boy, he's far enough to make it fun for you" Flamewar smiled. Airachnid smirked as she turned, sprinting past Arcee towards Jack.

"Jack!" Arcee screamed. Panting and tired, Jack turned at the sound of her voice to see Airachnid sprinting towards him.

Arcee gritted her teeth at Flamewar.

"Aww. Poor Awcee's wittle Sparkmate is in twouble" Flamewar cooed sarcastically with a pout, turning to a grin. Arcee turned and ran after Airachnid, the Cliffjumper gift on the box on the floor. Jack was more important right now. Flamewar sighed with content.

"Go on boys" she smirked, rolling her eyes as both Blackout and Tailgate gave chase.

"Goodbye, sis"


End file.
